Recovery
by CaytoTomato
Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War has just recently ended. Obito Uchiha had been taken down, all of the reanimations were defeated and sealed, and Sasuke had decided to return to the village. Now, the Shinobi villagers of Konoha must heal and recover from the horrible pains of war together. NaruHina, SasuSaku, and other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Howdy, everybody! Now, this is my FIRST fanfiction. EVER. So it may or not be a huge failure... And if it is, tell me, but try not to crush my soul. But hey, maybe nobody even bothered to read this. I may be talking to air as we speak...

Happy Reading! :)

**CHAPTER 1**

Blazing flames roared across the charred, rocky ground. Blood-curdling shrieks filling the air as people scattered about, desperately trying to flee from the horribly vicious monster chasing after them. Naruto Uzumaki looked on, unable to move.

_I've gotta do something! _He thought frantically. But his feet wouldn't budge. He had no choice but to just stare helplessly at the disasterous scene.

Blood lust filled the monster's eyes as it slashed through the crowd, each time taking out another two or three more innocent people. With a deafening roar, it reared back its arm and slammed a red chakra-cloaked claw against a man's throat, bashing him into a tree. The man began trying to speak. Trying to utter his last words.

Looking up, the man showed his face.

Spiky, black hair caked with blood fell into red sharingan eyes, fading as they went back to their regular onyx color. His pale skin was coated in blood and dirt, and his lean figure shuddered from the immense pain.

"N-nn..."

Naruto watched the horrifying scene, immediately recognizing the pitiful man.

"S-Sasuke...SASUKE!" he screamed, struggling to break free of the invisible grasp that gripped him. "SASUKE, NOOOO!" He dropped his head and began sobbing. Looking up again, he realized something odd was happening to his comrade's body.

Slowly, the features of Sasuke's face became contorted, and shifted into a more feminine appearance. His dark hair straightened and fell to a chin length, all the while turning a bright, bubblegum pink. Developing a more feminine figure, her now veridian eyes filled with pain. Another very familiar face.

"SAKURA! SAKURA-CHAAANN!"

"N-naa..." she gasped.

New tears began streaming down his face, pain gripping at his heart. He couldn't take much more of this.

The body began to morph and change once again.

Spiked hair a metallic silver, small dark eyes, and a mask covering the bottom half of his face. It was Kakashi Sensei.

"NOOOO! Naruto ear-splittingly shrieked. "No, no, no, no, no," he sobbed.

"N-naar..."

The body continued morphing, each time with a new face. Every person he saw suffer was another crack in his sanity.

Hinata Hyuuga.

"N-naar...N-naaru..."

Kiba Inuzuka. Shino Aburame.

"N-naar-ruut-tt..."

Tears flowed from blood-shot eyes as the yellow-haired ninja moaned with emotional pain.

Neji Hyuuga, Rock Lee, TenTen.

"N-nooo... Oh, God. No..."

Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka.

Jiraiya, Kurenai Sensei, Guy Sensei, Asuma Sensei.

The body looked straight into the monster's eyes and croaked out:

"N-naa...Nar-ru...t-t"

"Naruto..."

A pang went through Naruto's body.

_Naruto? D-did it just say _Naruto_?_

Another pang went through him, vibrating his whole body. He looked up to see that he wasn't looking at the scene from a far anymore, but instead was standing up close. It was right in front of him.

Looking down, he saw his arm reached out, covered in evil chakra, grasping the person's neck.

"No...No, it's not possible."

"I-I'm... the monster."

Belting a ginormous scream, Naruto sat up abruptly, almost bashing his head against his bedroom wall. He was panting heavily, blonde hair matted with sweat clung to his neck and forehead. Crisp, cool night air drifted in from the open window and stirred up the scent of dirty clothes and old ramen, calming him slightly.

"Just...Just another dream," he said to himself aloud.

He was exhausted.

But he couldn't sleep. Not without having those horrid nightmares.

Letting out a large breath, he flopped back down on his bed, and rubbed his hands over his face. He recalled a time when he used to be able to sleep peacefully way into the afternoon, being awoken only by a frightening Sakura screaming at him once again for being late for training or a mission.

But that was before the war, of course.

The Fourth Great Shinobi War had been declared officially over for about three weeks.

Sasuke had decided to fight on their side and return to Konaha, all the reanimations had been defeated and sealed, and Obito Uchiha had been taken down and defeated.

He should have been elated.

But he wasn't.

Don't get him wrong, as happy as he was that the war was finally over, he still despaired over the countless casualties. The numerous lives that had been lost in the fight to protect him. Of course, he knew that the shinobi had chosen to fight in the war. They knew that they could have perished, and they fought anyway.

But, it still didn't make him feel any less guilty.

Glancing out the window, he saw the sun beginning to rise. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep anyway, he got out of bed, and splashed some water on his face. Grabbing and slipping on his signature orange jumpsuit, he walked over to start boiling some water for some instant ramen.

_Maybe I'll go meet Sakura for some training. Teme can come too! It'll be just like Team Seven again! _he thought to himself. _Hell, maybe I'll even invite the whole Rookie Nine and Team Guy!_

Suddenly, he stopped and frowned.

Sasuke's trial...

Even though Sasuke had come through in the end and helped the Allied Shinobi Forces win the war, he was still a wanted criminal. There was a possibility he could even be sentenced to _death_.  
_  
Nah, Tsunade no baachan would never be that cruel, even if she's pretty scary, _he reassured himself.

Now, Naruto didn't want him completely off the hook. Oh no. Definitely not. Not after just abandoning the Hidden Leaf and all his friends. Especially Sakura...

Sakura-chan...

She had been completely heartbroken after Sasuke left, though she tried not to show it. She had overworked herself at the hospital and training with Tsunade almost to the point of breaking. And she had done it all just to distract herself from him. No, Teme would have a hard time getting forgiveness for that.  
_  
_Putting aside those thoughts, he slowly slurped up his noodles, savoring every bite.  
_  
_"Ohh, ramen... How I have missed you!" he exclaimed , one of the worst things that came from the war for Naruto.

No ramen.

Finishing his cup noodles, he pushed away the empty container and jumped up. He padded over to the door and slipped on his black sandals. Hands behind his head and a broad smile on his face, he strolled out of his apartment in the signature Naruto fashion, momentarily forgetting the terrible scarring images from his most recent night terror.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Ugghhh...School is starting soon and I still have summer homework! :(

Anyway, thanks to: champp6, EverForbiddenTruth, and Ayrmed for following my story! Thanks to tenten984, Iuzhikari, and vewtwo for favoriting my story! And special thanks to Kedo, who reviewed! Glad to know some people liked my story. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 2**

Sasuke Uchiha woke up at the crack of dawn as usual, but instead of getting up right away as he usually did, he laid there for a couple more minutes. He was sleeping in his old bedroom in the Uchiha Manor. His old apartment had been long rented out for quite some time now, so unless he wanted to sleep on the streets, he would have to reside in his own house. He had too much pride to even _consider _asking dobe or Sakura for a place to sleep, and he didn't think very many other people would be quick to make an offer, seeing as he was still given looks of distrust and hatred as he walked through Konoha.

Having thought living in his old house would bring back painful memories, he was quite surprised when he found himself not depressed, but instead comforted by all of the pleasant memories he had experienced in the past there. He hadn't had a single nightmare yet.

He had also been shocked at how much _smaller_ everything seemed to be. The mahogany cuboards that he used to have to scramble up the counter just to open were now easily accessible. The counters themselves that had been neck-length were now about even to his hips. The ginormous oak trees in his yard that he had climbed as a child were not as towering and imitating as he had remembered. Even the bed he was lying in was quite the tight fit now. But he had adapted and gotten used to it in the past couple of weeks.

Lying in bed, he remembered why he had decided to fight with the Allied Shinobi Forces and come back to Konoha. He thought back to what the reanimated first Hokage said to him about having peace between the clans and creating a place where little children could have a childhood without dying so early.

As the last living Uchiha, he would reimburse his clan and bring the power of the Uchiha back to Konoha. His children _will _have a safe and happy childhood, and he would die to protect that.

Finally rolling out of bed, he slipped on a short-sleeved black shirt adorned with the symbol of his clan, washed his face and brushed his teeth. Walking into the kitchen for some breakfast, he grabbed a hearty red tomato and sunk his teeth into it, savoring the juicy taste.

He had a strange fetish for tomatoes...

As he thought of his plans for the day, he sensed two chakra signatures outside his house. The hokage had assigned two ANBU black ops to watch him incase he did anything suspicious or tried to destroy the village or something.

_...Tch, Isn't the fact that I helped them win the war enough to know I'm on their side?_

He let out a heavy sigh.

_Guess I'll find out at the trial._

He was still a wanted criminal. Leaving Konoha, training with the wanted Orochimaru, attempting to kill Naruto a couple times, trying to capture the Eight Tails... He had a lot to be sorry for, and as much as he tried not to show it, he was nervous.

_What if they put me in prison?_  
_What if they kill me?_  
_What if they take away my shinobi status?_

That last one would be the worst, he decided. At least if he was dead he wouldn't be forced to sit around in the village while Naruto and the others continued to get stronger and go on dangerous missions.

But, whenever Naruto pestered him about it, he didn't let any of his nervousness show.

_"Hey teme!"_

_"What do you want, dobe?"_

_"Your trial! Whaddaya think Granny no baachan's gonna decide?"_

_He shrugged. "Hn."_

_"Awww, come on, Sasuke! Would it kill you to actually talk once in a while?"_

_Sasuke just kept walking._

_Suddenly, Naruto stopped. Turning serious, he looked Sasuke straight in the eyes and said, "Hey. Try not to be an ass at the trial. At least give yourself a chance. God knows what'll happen to Sakura if she finds out you've been sentenced to death. Or prison. You know what she went through when you left?"_

At this, Sasuke had gotten angry. What? Does he think he _wants_ a death sentence? But instead of saying anything, he gave Naruto a questioning glance.

_"As much as she would try to hide it, she would come to training with huge bags under her eyes and tear stains on her cheeks. If you asked her about it, she would just shrug it off. And she worked herself like_ crazy. _She'd almost always be at the hospital or training with Granny just so she could be strong enough to save _you_." Poking Sasuke with his finger as he said so. People were worried she was going to kill herself at one point!_

_"She's gotten pretty strong too. She's one of the best medics at the hospital. Even Tsunade thinks Sakura'll be the one to surpass her!_

At this information, he had been quite surprised.

_Had Sakura really gotten that strong?_ he thought to himself.

He knew she was a medic, because she had helped heal some of his injuries from the war, and he had also seen some of her strength while watching her battle, but was she really _that_ good? He was also surprised about the apparent depression she went through when he left. He knew she would be sad, but he hadn't known she would take it that hard. Sakura had seemed different when he saw her. She wasn't as enthusiastic as she had been when she was a crazed fan-girl. Instead, she seemed a lot more nervous around him. It was as if she thought he would hate her or insult her if she did even the slightest thing wrong.

Was she annoying?  
Yes.

Did he hate her?  
No.

She was still one of his comrades. Maybe even a friend... Maybe. Depending on exactly _how_ annoying she was now.

After finishing his delicious tomato, he reached for another one only to find air.

_Tch, Out of tomatoes again..._

Slipping on his shoes, he walked to the door. He'd go to the market, get some tomatoes and maybe a few other groceries, and then he'd go out to the field to train. Sliding the door shut behind him, he leaped into the trees and jumped his way into town

**A/N:** Alright, so that was chapter 2! Critiques? Mistakes? Compliments? Review please! I got stung by a bee today. :( Tell me a joke in a review please? Haha!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Nothing like staying up until four in the morning in the summer! (I'll be paying for it in the morning.)

**Special thanks to...**

Reviewers: Kedo and OTP-addict

Favoriters: tenten984, Iuzhikari, vewtwo, and

Followers: champp6, EverForbiddenTruth, , and Ayrmed

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

**CHAPTER 3**

Hinata Hyuuga got up particilarly early that day. She had desperately wanted to do something to lighten everybody's moods a bit, as everybody was still feeling depressed about the recently-ended war. She being no exception.

The loss of her cousin, Neji, had been especially hard on her and left her feeling crushed. Though they had had a rough patch in their early genin years (rough patch being that he tried to _kill_ her), they had slowly grown to be friends. She knew Neji really did care for her, as he vowed to protect her with his life.

And that's what he did.

Neji had jumped in front of Naruto and her to stop a killing blow from murdering them in the war, effectively saving them, but sacrificing himself in return.

Hinata still missed her cousin deeply. Sometimes, she would still turn around, expecting to see him with his haughty air and noble attitude, only to meet empty space. As the genius of the Hyuuga clan, he was given a rather extravagant funeral, despite his position as a branch member. He was also honored by almost everybody outside their clan, not only as a ninja, but as a loyal friend.

Closing her eyes to prevent from crying, she went back to the task at hand. Having always been adept at baking, she chose to whip up a batch of muffins, chocolate chip muffins.

_Hopefully most everyone likes chocolate chips._.. she thought.

Trodding barefoot into the kitchen, she began to pull out all her needed ingredients.

"Flour...Sugar...Chocolate chips...Eggs..." she mumbled to herself as she slowly searched the cabinets.

"Good morning, Hinata," a firm yet calm voice said, startling Hinata so much that she almost dropped the carton of eggs she was carrying.

She turned around to see Neji himself standing right in front of her. Almost fainting from shock, she took another look at the miracle, just to realize that it was not Neji, but instead her father.

_Wow, they look so alike..._

"G-good morning, Father!" she said, trying her best to sound confident. Since the war, he began acknowledging her more and more, and she absolutely did not want her stuttering to ruin it.

"What are you doing?" he questioned her.

"O-oh, ano, I was j-just..." she paused, taking a deep breath. "I just decided to bake something for my friends today," she finished smoothly.

She smiled to herself, proud of her small accomplishment.

"Ah, I see. Well, later, when you're done, I expect you to get some training done."

"Yes, Father."

Nodding to her, he swiftly left the room.

Hinata let out a big sigh of relief.

_That went much better then expected!_ she praised herself.

Ever since the war, she felt herself growing stronger. It was almost as if a piece of Neji's spirit had descended on her, making her braver and more confident. Her father was starting to look at her with the same admiration he had looked at Hanabi and Neji with. Her shyness was slowly dissolving. Slowly, but still lessening.

_Thank you, niisan. _She smiled fondly.

Again returning to her work, she began mixing the ingredients together, using an old recipe she had learned long ago. Pouring the batter into the little indents on the tray, she wondered about how everybody would like them. She was pretty confident that most of them would, but then there was Sasuke... She didn't really know him all that well... Did he even like desserts? If he were to refuse, it wouldn't really hurt her, she was more concerned on whether it would offend _him_.

With her heavy-duty oven mitt on, she carefully slid the tray into the oven, but despite her precautions, her sleeve slipped and her arm grazed the scalding-hot metal.

"Ouch!" she hissed, quickly pulling her arm to her face to examine the damage. Nothing she couldn't fix. Covering the burn with her hand, she applied medical ninjutsu to it and healed it almost immediately. She was a moderately good medic, not as good as Sakura, she might add, but good enough.

After setting the clock and the temperature, she sat down on the couch, picking up a favorie book of hers to pass the minutes until the timer went off.

About a half hour later, she pulled out the fresh-baked muffins (careful not to burn herself again) and set them out to cool. Reaching into another cabinet to pull out a container, she put each muffin in a white liner.

"Mmmm..." she said as she inhaled the sweet, chocolatey scent.

She then loaded all of the muffins into the tupperware container. Leaving them sitting on the counter, she went to her room to go change into her training clothes composed of a large lilac jacket, dark blue pants, and black sandals. She picked up the container and headed out towards the door. Planning to visit Kiba-kun and Shino-kun first, she decided she would leave Naruto, the hardest, for last. Thinking nervously about the upcoming meeting with her life-long crush, she repeated the mantra, "Don't faint. Don't faint. Don't faint" over and over to herself. Walking along the stone path to their usual training grounds, her mood lightened a bit as she thought about seeing her friends again.

A/N: Yeah, so incase you hadn't noticed, these first three chapters have been pretty much just different people's beginning points of view. Next chapter it'll be Sakura, and then they'll sorta combine and what not. :)

Thanks! Review please!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Special thanks to...**

Reviewers: Kedo, Silverdawn97531, and OTP-addict

Favoriters: tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, and

Followers: champp6, JayThawN, EverForbiddenTruth, Sakura 8D, , and Ayrmed

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

**CHAPTER 3**

Sakura Haruno woke up to the annoying sound of her blaring alarm clock honking at her. Slamming a chakra-enhanced hand on top of the snooze button, almost destroying the clock in the process, she looked up bleary-eyed and read 5:15 AM on the digital screen.

_Just...One hundred more seconds... Then I'll get up.._.

Having worked overtime at the hospital what with so many people being injured from the war, and then further going to Ino's house to comfort and cry with her over the loss of her father, she had achieved...maybe three hours of sleep. She came back to her apartment at about one in the morning, but had then spent a good hour of sleepy time thinking (read: worrying and obsessing) over Sasuke.

When she had heard that Sasuke would be officially returning to the village, she was so overjoyed that she almost pulled a Hinata and fainted in front of everybody while Inner-Sakura threw a party inside of her.

Finally counting to the dreaded one hundred, she attempted to roll out of bed. Being as exhausted as she was, instead of standing up, she brutally flopped to the ground, smacking her face on the hardwood floor.

"AhhhhhOwwwwaaaaaggahhhh..." she mumbled as she laid on the ground, still too tired to get up.

_GET UP, YOU LAZY BUM!_ Inner-Sakura shrieked at her. _How are you gonna get Sasuke layin' on the ground like a LAZY SACK!?_

_...Shut up. What does it matter? He already thinks I'm annoying anyway._

She recalled somberly all of the times he had ever said those cruel words to her. One painful time especially peeking out.

_Nope. Locking that one up. _she thought as she mentally blocked that horrible memory.

She couldn't help but act a little skittish around Sasuke. She didn't want to do anything to upset him, or have him think she was even _more_ annoying than he already did. This involved hardly ever talking to him, looking at him, or being in the same room as him, excluding medical purposes.

Rising up slowly from the ground, she rubbed her nose painfully as she stumbled to the bathroom. Her nose was as red as a tomato.

_NOOOO! WE'RE HIDIOUS!_ Inner-Sakura shrieked.

Outer-Sakura couldn't help but agree. She looked like a humanoid rudolph. Applying medical ninjutsu to her face, she was able to make some of the throbbing go away, but she knew there would still be a bruise. Sure enough, when she looked back at her reflection, she could see the grayish-purple mark starting to form. Sighing heavily, she trudged to her small kitchen and pulled out some leftover dinner from two nights ago.

Today was one of the rare days she didn't have to work at the hospital, and she planned to utilize it. Even though her medical skills were improving dramatically, she still felt her fighting skills were falling behind. She planned to meet up with Naruto for training, and she'd probably bring Ino, knowing she needed the distraction.

Finishing up, she went back into her room to get ready. Padding into the bathroom, she disrobed and stepped into the ice cold shower, the chill perking her up a bit. After shampooing and washing up, she stepped out and dried off quickly. Slipping into her sleeveless red shirt, black spandex, and beige skirt, she checked herself in the mirror and tied her red forhead protector on the top of her head to hold back her rose hair.

By the time she was putting on her shoes and getting ready to leave, she was awake and ready for the hard day of training ahead of her. She didn't want anybody to hold back on her. Especially Naruto. She saw from the war how strong he had really gotten, and she knew he would try not to hurt her. She wanted to improve, and if she had to get bruised and bloodied to get better, then so be it.

She smiled fondly as she thought of how the yellow-haired goofball she had resented in her genin days had matured to be the powerful Naruto Uzumaki she knew now. Of course, he was still a little immature, but she now had no doubts on whether or not he could become hokage, and with his determination, he probably could get the position with or without the skill he had achieved. Borrowing a piece of Naruto's will, she promised herself that she would train until she was at the extent of her ability.

Walking out the door, she headed off to the Yamanaka clan to pick up Ino, and then together they would both meet up at the training grounds with Naruto and whoever else wanted to show up.

_SASUKE! SASUKE! SASUKE! SASUKE!_ Inner-Sakura chanted.

Ignoring her, Outer-Sakura just continued down the path, an excited hop in her step.

A/N: Alrighty then! The prologue-ish chapters are over now, I guess. ON TO THE TRAINING GROUNDS, HUZZAH!

REVIEW, PRETTY PLEASE?

P.S. I know a lot of you read the manga...But I'd just like to inform you that I don't. I've just picked up on things that have happened in the manga that haven't happened in the anime yet on the internet. Ex. Neji, Ino's dad, and Shikamaru's dad dying. Also, I know Sasuke decides to return to Konoha, but I don't exactly know why...


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Special thanks to...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, , TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, champp6, JayThawN, EverForbiddenTruth, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following and favoriting!

Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 5**

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. This one's on the house."

"Thanks!" Naruto said happily as he slid out of his seat. "See ya, pops! Ayame!"

"You come back now!" Ayame, Teuchi's daughter called after him.

Turning around to give a smile and a wave, he jogged away. As he slowed down to an easy walk, he grinned at the different people walking down the street as they passed by him, giving him sincere 'hello's' and 'good morning's'. Ever since the invasion of the Pains, he was so much more welcomed in the village. He never felt resented, he was never left out, and instead of the cold, harsh eyes that used to follow him, he was given warm, genuine smiles.

As he neared the training grounds, he noticed somebody already there, beating and slicing at a thick tree. Black hair, Black shirt, and he couldn't see his face because he was facing the other way, but Naruto was already positive that if he turned around, he would be greeted by cool black eyes. Most likely filled with annoyance.

"Oi! Teme!" Naruto shouted at him.

Pausing in his workout, Sasuke turned around to look at him.

"Dobe." he acknowledged.

"Did they let you off without any guards?" he asked looking around the area. "And who ya callin' dobe?" he said in a mock-offended tone. "You're lookin' at the hero of the Leaf Village!" Thrusting his thumb at his chest for emphasis.

"No, they're just watching in the trees." he replied, nodding towards the left of the forest. "And more like the idiot of the Leaf Village," he smirked.

"Why, you..."

"Ino, _please_. You _have_ to get up!"

"Noooo..." a garbled voice came from underneath a pillow.

"Ino, come on. Don't do this."

Shooting upright, Ino gave her a death glare. "Don't do _what_, Sakura? Don't be _sad_? Of course, why should I be _sad_ when my dad is _DEAD_? You wouldn't understand because YOU STILL HAVE BOTH OF YOUR PARENTS!" At this she broke into heart-wrenching sobs. "I-I'm sorr-ry! I just...I just..."

Sakura stood there, frozen with shock before she finally moved to give her best friend a hug.

"No, no, no, no, no! _I'm_ sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that. It's just... Ino, your father wouldn't want you to be like this."

Ino looked up at her with wet eyes and a blotchy face.

"He would want you to be proud that he died in the war trying to protect everybody. He would want you to be out there, training, because he doesn't want to see you again until you're old and gray. He sure isn't going to be happy if you show up because you got killed in a mission while you were too distracted with your crying."

Ino gave a dry laugh. "Alright, forehead. I'll come... Just gimme a sec to get ready." She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Alright. I'll be waiting here," Sakura replied.

"Oh, and can we pick up Shikamaru on the way? Chouji'll probably be with him, and I imagine he's going through the same thing I am," she sighed.

Smiling, Sakura replied, "Sure, no problem."

The retrieval of Chouji and Shikamaru was... a bit more...aggressive than Sakura would have liked to have handled it, but it was expected, as she let _Ino_ be the one to handle it.

_"GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUTTA BED, SHIKAMARU!" Ino screamed, whacking a pillow at him._

_Glaring at her with blood-shot eyes, he muttered a trademark 'troublesome'._

_"YOUR FATHER'S THE ONE THAT SHOULD BE CRYING, KNOWING HE RAISED A SISSY LIKE YOU AS HIS SON!"_

While not exactly the nicest way to get him to come along, it was effective nonetheless, as he was walking alongside them, hands in his pockets while he talked to Chouji.

After a couple minutes of comfortable silence, they finally neared the training grounds. She looked up to see Naruto advancing angrily at... _Sasuke_. Her stomach dropped a little. Shaking off her nervousness, she called out loudly, "

"Hey! Naruto!"

Naruto paused, fist suspended in midair.

Whirling around, he grinned at them and waved, sprinting up to Sakura. As Naruto was about to squeeze the life out of her in a bear hug, he suddenly stopped. Sasuke walking calmly behind him.

"Whoa. What happened to your _face_, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, slightly disgusted. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her.

Sakura's cheeks reddened slightly as she remembered the incident that caused the massive bruise on her nose. Angrily, she whacked Naruto on the head and growled at him "The same thing that's gonna happen to you if you keep talking about it!" Sasuke chuckled, but instantly stopped when Sakura shot him a glare.

"Owww, Sakura! Jeez, you don't need to hit so hard..." Naruto then looked up, finally noticing the rest of the group. "Hey! Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino! How you guys been?" Pointing the question more towards Shikamaru and Ino.

"Pretty good!"

"Not too bad."

"Eh, nothing too troublesome. How 'bout you, Naruto? Sasuke?"

"Great!"

"Hn."

Well, let's get started!" Naruto said excitedly as he rubbed his hands together.

They separated into pairs of two: Naruto and Sasuke, Chouji and Shikamaru, and Sakura and Ino.

Each of them getting into their ready stances, they faced their opponents and began the day of sparring.

**A/N: **

Just some replies to some reviews...(COUGH, COUGH, LOVE REVIEWS!) Me when I get a new review : **"('-')" "('-')" PARTY TIME!**

**OTP-addict: **Haha, and yes, you are being mentioned again! I'm thinking maybe I'll drag out this story extra long WITHOUT any sasusaku...just for you! ;)

**EverForbiddenTruth: **Thanks! I was starting to wonder if anybody would read this story because I put in 4 chapters of basically nothing, but it's GREAT to know you liked it!

**TraptWolf94**: I'm not really sure how often I'll update since I'm still on summer vacation, and I don't know how busy I'll be when school starts, but I'm definitely planning on finishing! I'll try to update ASAP. And Haha-maybe I'll check out your stories when you update!

**Ayrmed**: Whew! Good to know. Thank God for Sasuke being so hard to understand! haha

**Kedo: **Thank you! I'll definitely put some of those things you mentioned in the story!

**Silverdawn97531: **Haha thanks, but your stories are great!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Special thanks to...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, , TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, Rafaeru, EverForbiddenTruth, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following and favoriting!

Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 6**

"So, are they good?" Hinata asked. It was easier for her to speak with her  
teammates without stuttering because she had known them for so long, and  
they weren't exactly what you would call 'intimidating'.

"Gfud? derr greaft!" Kiba exclaimed, spitting food all over her face. "ARF!" Akamaru agreed.

Wiping her face, she turned to her other comrade and asked, "What about you, Shino-kun?"

"Yes... They are indeed quite delicious." he replied in his usual creepy manor.

"Good," she sighed with relief. "I only wish Kurenai could be here  
with us," she added sadly.

Finally swallowing his muffin, Kiba replied, "Yeah, but she needs bed rest. Her baby is due soon!"

"Yes! I'm so excited!" Hinata said, clapping her hands together. "I'm going  
to go deliver some muffins to Sakura and Ino. It's Sakura's day off today,  
so I'll expect she'll be at the training grounds. Want to come? Maybe we can get some training in and then visit Kurenai sensei!"

"Sure, me and Akamaru are in." Kiba replied. "ARF ARF!"

"I as well" said Shino.

"Great! Let's get going!"

Walking up to the training grounds where she had predicted Ino and Sakura would be, Hinata realized that not only were the two girls there, but also Chouji, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Naruto. Her heart rate quickening as she spotted Naruto, currently sparring with Sasuke, she stumbled a little bit and almost dropped the container of muffins.

*Why are you so nervous, Hinata? You had planned to see him today anyway!* she scolded herself.

"You okay, Hinata?" Kiba asked worriedly. He turned his head to where she looking, and his lips formed a small smile. "Ah, I see..."

"Kiba, please..." Hinata said exasperatedly, staring at the ground while she blushed. It was really embarrassing for her to know that everybody knew about her crush. Everybody *but* Naruto actually, up until recently, she believed... Clearing her head, she looked back up to see Sakura waving at her. Waving back, she watchef her say something to the rest of the group, and the matches slowly came to a stop.

Ino approached them. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"I b-brought muffins," Hinata blurted out, cheeks reddening as she thrust out the tupperware.

"Muffins!? Ahhh, yes!" Chouji exclaimed, greedily snatching away the container.

"Yeah! Thanks, Hinata!" Naruto said, smiling warmly at her. He then proceeded to run off after Chouji, screaming and yelling at him. "HEY! Chouji! Man, you can't hog *all* the muffins!"

Both of them abruptly stopped, frozen in awkward positions. Naruto cried out. "What the hell? I can't move!"

Shikamaru smirked lazily as he leaned against a tree. Straightening up, he walked towards them and grabbed the dessert container out of Chouji's pleasantly plump hands, making him groan miserably. Hinata laughed at the pitifully comical scene, while Sakura yelled, "Alright Shikamaru!"

Releasing his hold on the two hungry teenagers, causing them both to fall down, he strolled back to his comfortable spot against the tree, the rest of the group settling down in the grass. Naruto and Chouji stumbled back towards the group, each getting their own whack from Sakura and Ino. "That's what you get when you try to run off with all the muffins!"

"We're sorrrrrrryyy..." They moaned simultaneously, amusing the whole group. Even Sasuke, who smirked while he sat down next to Sakura.

"I hope you all like sweet things!" Hinata said, passing a muffin to everybody. When she reached Sasuke, he put his hand up and started to decline, but before he could finish, Sakura elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "Actually, I-OOMPH! I...I'll take a muffin," he finished grumpily. Sakura grinned next to him.

*Shy, nervous Sakura, or evil, painful Sakura... I can't tell which one's worse.* Sasuke thought as he painfully rubbed his ribs.

"Wow, Hinata! These are amazing!" Sakura complimented.

"Definitely!" Naruto agreed, making her heart flounce.

"Derishouss!" Chouji spluttered as he shoved the whole thing in his mouth.

"Totally worth breaking my diet for," Ino put in.

Even Sasuke had to admit, they were pretty delicious. He didn't usually like sweet things, but these were way better than expected. He proceeded to take another bite.

Brushing himself off as he stood up, Naruto said to everybody, "Ahh... That was a nice break. You guys staying for training?" he asked Team Kurenai.

"You bet! But...we have an odd number," Kiba said, counting them off. "How're we gonna split into pairs?"

"You know, we've been dying to get some training in for our Ino-Shika-Cho formation," Ino said, gesturing towards her two teammates. "How about...We take on...Naruto and Sasuke? It's two on three, but they're more than skilled enough for it to be fair."

Everybody nodded in agreement.

"Okay!" Sakura said. "I'll fight-"

"DO I SMELL THE BEAUTEOUS SCENT OF SHINOBI TRAINING IN THE SPRINGTIME OF THEIR YOUTH?" Yelled Lee as he smashed down on the forest ground with his 'Dynamic Entry'.

"Bushy Brows!" Naruto said, clapping him on the back.

"Lee!" came in exasperated voice from behind the trees.

"Ten Ten!" Hinata greeted.

"Hey guys!" the brown-haired weapons master replied. "Sorry, are we interrupting something?"

"No, no. In fact you're just in time!" Sakura said. "We're pairing off to spar with eachother. Actually, Ten Ten, why don't you and I have a match?"

"You're on!" she grinned. Her smiled turned melancholy as she continued, "I just wish Neji was here. He would have loved something like this..."

At the mention of their late Hyuuga friend, everybody went silent. A pang, similar to the ones from his nightmare, went through Naruto as he remembered with guilt how Neji had jumped in front of Hinata and him in order to save them from a killing blow. He remembered how he had almost given up then, almost giving into Obito's tempting views, but Hinata had saved him then as well. The feel of her hand sharply connecting with his face and her words of how he didn't need to fight alone anymore filled his heart as he looked over at the indigo-haired kunoichi. He knew how she felt about him now. It all connected when he looked into her eyes as her hand held his cheek. He didn't know how he could be so stupid, so blind. He knew now, but he didn't know how to react to it. He didn't know if he loved her, having never really been in love before, unless you counted his kiddie-crush on Sakura. Hinata seemed to be reacting the worst to the mention of her cousin, so grabbing her hand, the same way he did after she convinced him to keep fighting, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. Looking up at him in shock, her cheeks flamed with a blush, and Naruto was afraid she might faint. Instead, her face slowly turned back to its regular pale color and she smiled back at him, returning the hand squeeze, then letting go.

Not missing the scene, Kiba wore a small smirk on his face and turned to Rock Lee. "Alright, eyebrow boy. Let's see what's faster, your tai jutsu or my gatsuga!"

"Yes! Indeed! It shall be a well-fought match!" Lee said, flashing his nice-guy pose.

"Looks like it will be you and I, Hinata. For as usual, I am picked last." Shino said broodily to Hinata. Hinata laughed cheerfully at her sulking partner and patted his back. "Alright then, let's go, Shino-kun!"

Each person, once again, got into their ready stances, prepared for the difficult matches they were about to endure.

A/N: Alright, so I promise next chapter, stuff'll actually happen! I guess this was kind of another...nothin' muffin chapter... I plan to have some fighting in the next one!

Also, is there anybody out there who plays Animal Crossing: New Leaf? If so, drop me a PM of your friend code, and I'll send you mine so we can visit eachother's towns! :)

Thanks for reading! REVIEW PLEASE! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Special thanks to...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Mordmil, GrayPen, blackrose777, Nore123, JadenCage, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following and favoriting!

Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 7**

Ten Ten ran at Sakura, flinging a dozen kunai at her with deadly precision. Sakura nimbly dodged the sharp knives and sprinted up towards her, gathering her chakra to the bottom of her feet, trying to get in close-combat range.

_I've gotta get up close so she can't throw anymore weapons! Then I can land a hard blow on her._ she thought to herself.

Finally getting in near enough proximity, Sakura let loose a couple of chakra-enhanced punches and kicks. Ten Ten, realizing the danger she was in, leapt way back out of the way and pulled out a summoning scroll. Whipping it open, a mace poofed into the air. As she swung it around her head expertly, she speedily apprached Sakura once again. In order to stop the attack, Sakura slammed her gloved fist into the ground, cracking the earth and sending the brunette flying. As Ten Ten sailed through the air, she righted herself, and summoned a large shuriken, thrusting it at her opponent with all her might.

It was coming at her so fast, Sakura didn't have enough time to move completely out of the way, and her arm got the worst of it.

"Aaahhh! Ssss..." she cried out, clutching her arm as the deep red blood streamed down her arm.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as several copies of him poofed into view, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio holding their ground. Using his own jutsu, Chouji enlarged his hands, wiping them all out in one swipe. All of the Narutos disappeared, leaving the three confused as to where the real one was.

Appearing out of nowhere with lightning fast speed, Sasuke ran at them, sharingan activated. Looking to take them out one at a time, he flashed around Ino, using tai jutsu to hit her in sensitive spots. As he was just about to hit her in the back to temporarily paralyze her, he was suddenly unable to move.

_Damn. How could I have forgotten about the Nara kid?_

"Chouji, grab him! I'm running out of chakra!" Shikamaru yelled.

Enlarging his hands once again, Chouji made to trap him. Exhausted, Shikamaru involuntarily released his jutsu, letting it go a split second too soon. In that moment, Sasuke's hands became a blur as he flashed through signals, and raising two fingers to his lips, he yelled, "Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" effectively scorching Chouji's ginormous hands. The chubby boy yelped as his hands shrunk down to their regular size.

_Where is that dobe?_ Sasuke thought impatiently.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ino get into position for one of her mind jutsus and made to move, but ended up not having to as a streak of orange suddenly shot down on top of her.

Smirking at him, Naruto boasted, "Saved your ass there, didn't I, Teme?"

Sasuke scoffed and then warned him, "Watch out, Chouji's coming at your back."

Sure enough, Chouji was in his large, spiky ball form, thunderously rolling towards them. Suddenly, Sasuke saw Naruto close his eyes and make a hand signal, eyelids turning orange.

"Ah, so that's what you were doing. Really going all out on this spar, aren't you?" Sasuke said.

"Damn right! And what, you thought I was just sittin' around watching?"

"Something like that."

Turning towards the Akimichi boy, Naruto summoned two more clones and ran straight up to him, using his amazing sage strength to stop his rolling body.

Naruto's victorious smile was suddenly wiped off his face, as his body went rigid.

"What the hell..." Sasuke heard him mutter.

Naruto jerked up, and turned to face Sasuke.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked Naruto.

"Someone-I think Ino-is controlling my body!" Naruto replied, panicking.

"Ino, what are you doing?" he heard Shikamaru ask her. Glancing over at her face, Sasuke saw, not the confident expression he had been expecting, but a worried one. Then, she abruptly slumped over. Chouji alarmedly yelled, "Ino!"

Looking back at Naruto, he saw his face was now completely blank, and his hand was stretched out, a clone forming the rasengan in his hand.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. Naruto was also still in sage mode. Anything he did would be three times as powerful. With shocking speed Sasuke didn't know Naruto had, the boy raced towards him, rasengan reared back. He made to dodge it, but suddenly, he heard Sakura cry out with pain from afar. For some reason, he faltered in his steps, giving zombie Naruto an opening. He slammed the rasengan into his right arm, and Sasuke cried out.

Soaring through the air and crashing into a thick tree, he heard the sickening sound of his bones crunching, and then everything went black.

A/N: Alright, so that was a fighting chapter, I guess! GASP! What's gonna happen? Like it? Dislike it? Doesn't matter, just REVIEW! :)

**Replies to reviews**:

**shabdika**: Haha, I know, right? She's such a nice person...Hehe

**TraptWolf94**: Wow, you really like Kiba, huh? Haha! Sorry he wasn't in this chapter though!

**Guest**: Is there even a point in replying to guest reviews? Whatever, doing it anyway! I don't think I'll use Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo...Seems like a lot of extra work, and I also have no idea what happens to them in the war and manga. Sorry :(

**OTP-addict:** Haha, calm down! :) It'll be there!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Special thanks to...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, GrayPen, blackrose777, Nore123, JadenCage, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following and favoriting!

Enjoy!

TOMORROW IS MY LAST DAY TO SLEEP IN UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS! AHHH!

**CHAPTER 8**

"Byakugan!" Hinata yelled, charging quickly at Shino. With her blood-line activated, she was able to see his chakra system, which was surrounded by a thousand floating little dots she knew were his beetles.

She knew what she had to do. She had to get close enough to him so that he could block off his chakra system. Rushing towards him, she used her gentle-fist technique to try to tap out his chakra points, but just as she tried to hit him, a wall of bus erupted around him, effectively stopping all of her attacks.

She leapt back far away before he could use his bugs to trap her and eat her chakra.

_I can't get close without his bugs getting in the way! I must try to blast away his wall from a far and then advance quickly._

Getting in her stance for her Air Palm, she moved forward to blast him, but was unexpectedlh stopped by a sudden yell of pain from the right of the woods.

_That sounded like Sasuke... _she thought nervously.

"What was that?"

"I do not know." Shino replied. "Check."

Using her enhanced eyes, she looked through the trees in the direction of the noise.

"I see... Shikamaru and Chouji...And Ino, she's unconcious! a-and Naruto! He's unconcious too! And-" she paused with a gasp.

"What?"

"S-sasuke... He's been horribly injured.

Without another word, tne two quickly set off towards the scene.

"Oh, shoot!" Ten Ten said to Sakura. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Nothing serious." Sakura replied, healing her bleeding arm.

"Oh, good." she said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Let's take a break for a minute."

Sakura nodded in agreement, her wound almost all closed up.

Cries of panic and pain came from the other side of the forest. The side where the others were fighting.

"What was that?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Ten Ten craned her neck to try to hear better. "I have no idea, but isn't that where Naruto and Sasuke are sparring with Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji?"

After a short pause, they both looked at eachother and said simultaneously: "Let's go."

Finally arriving at the clearing, Hinata gasped. It looked even worse upclose, and though Shino didn't say anything, she could sense his shocked expression.

"Naruto-kun!" she yelled, racing over to his fallen body and dropping to her knees. "N-naruto, wake up!" she pleaded, cradling his head in her lap.  
Chouji came running over.

"Thank goodness you guys are here! I don't know what happened. Ino started some kind of new jutsu that Shikamaru and I had never seen her use before, and Naruto just went _crazy_. He just went blank and started attacking Sasuke! Ino fell unconcious, and right after he hit Sasuke, Naruto dropped too. We need a medic on Sasuke immediately."

Dragging herself away from Naruto, she rushed over to Sasuke, Hinata inwardly cringed. He looked _bad_. Too bad for her to handle.

"We need Sakura," she stated almost immediately.

"That bad, eh?" Shikamaru said, still trying to wake up Ino. After a couple more shakes, she finally opened her eyes.

"...Whaa happened?" she murmured, rubbing her head as she sat up.

"That's what _we_ should be asking _you._" Shikamaru said sternly. "What the _hell_ was that jutsu, Ino?"

Her memory coming back to her, a horrified expression came on her face. "Oh, no! I had been trying to learn a new jutsu my father had used, Mind Body Disturbance Technique, where you control your opponents and get them to turn on eachother, but I lost control! Damn it! It was too early, I shouldn't have tried! I shouldn't have come!" she cried, putting her head in her hands.

Patting her back, Chouji said reassuringly, "Hey, don't worry we know it was an accident. Just be more careful next time."

She sniffled in response. "Shoot, I've gotta help Sasuke!"

Joining Hinata next to his mangled body, she said to her, "Now, we're not Sakura, but together we'll be good enough for now."

Hinata nodded in response and knelt down with Ino to start working. They didn't need to work very long, for Sakura burst through the trees with Ten Ten behind her almost immediately after they started.

"What happened?" she demanded. Then she saw Naruto and Sasuke's unconcious bodies and covered her mouth with her hand in horfified shock.

"Over here! Naruto can wait, he's just unconcious, but Sasuke..."

Sakura sprinted towards them, almost breaking down into tears when she saw him. It was like a picture from one of her nightmares. Sasuke, lying dead at her feet after Orochimaru had used his body, and the village had no choice but to kill him.

_No, he's not dead. You can still save him._

"Move," she told them abruptly, kneeling down to start healing some of the broken bones and wounds.

"What happened?" she asked, her hands glowing a light green.

They relayed to her the story of Sasuke getting the worst of Naruto's sage-mode rasengan after being trapped in Ino's jutsu.

_But Sasuke should have been able to dodge it...What happened?_ she though to herself.

"I've got this. Hinata, go help Naruto. Ino, stay and help heal this wound right here." Nodding to her, they both set to work.

After working for a half hour in silence, Sakura said aloud, "Okay, so we've healed the most pressing damage, but he should really be taken to a hospital. I've been treating a lot of my patients at home due to over crowding at the hospital. It'd probably be best if some of you just helped carry him over to the Uchiha manor.

Just as she said this, Lee erupted out of a tree, followed by a winded Kiba.

"Wha-what happened?" Kiba panted hands on his knees.

They retold what happened to the two and Sakura added, "Right, so I need some people to help bring him to his house.

"Anything for you, my sweet Sakura!" Lee declared.

"Great..." a sheepish Sakura replied.

"Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed as the spiky haired blonde opened his cerulean eyes.

"W-werr amm I..." Naruto grumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "Hinata? What happened?"

"Man, explaining this over and over is getting troublesome," Shikamaru butted in, nevertheless repeating it again.

"Damn...So is Sasuke okay?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"Just about, but we're working on who's gonna help transport him to the Uchiha manor." Sakura informed him.

"Me, Hinata, and Kiba gotta go visit Kurenai-sensei, but we'll check in later definitely," Kiba said.

Hinata looked worriedly at Naruto, torn between visiting her sensei, or staying to make sure he was okay. Seeing her nervous expression, Naruto gave her a warm smile and a hand squeeze. "I'll be fine. Been through worse, ya know?" Smiling back and blushing slightly, she murmured an 'okay'. Getting up, she joined her comrades and they left the vicinity.

"Okay, so, Shikamaru and Chouji, help carry Sasuke. Ino and Naruto, it'd probably be best if you came along. I'll check up on you when we get to the house." Sakura commanded.

Carefully picking up Sasuke, the two boys set off, the other three not far behind them.

A/N: Like it? Hate it? REVIEW! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Special thanks to...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagomi, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, JadenCage, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following and favoriting!

Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 9**

Sakura was sitting at Sasuke's bedside, nervously wringing her hands. She didn't know how Sasuke would react to her being in his house, what with the horrible history that came with it. What if he woke up furious and demanded she leave immediately? Her heart would probably completely shatter.

Chouji and Shikamaru had left a couple hours ago, and after deeming them healthy enough a half hour ago, Ino and Naruto had left as well. She was taking a short break from healing Sasuke. His injuries were taking up a lot of her chakra, and she was feeling slightly exhausted.

_Huh, funny how I'm on one of my only days off, and I'm still healing people._

Still, she wouldn't leave, even if someone tried to drag her by her toes while she screamed bloody murder. Sasuke needed her, and she was sure as heck going to help him.

While Inner-Sakura moped around in the corners of her mind due to Sasuke's condition, Sakura got up to go get a glass of water. She walked through the hall way and padded around the kitchen. She could just imagine a little, innocent Sasuke eating breakfast happily with his family. Sighing, she wondered how hard it was for Sasuke to be back here.

Standing on her tippy-toes, Sakura reached for a small glass in a tall cabinet. She filled it up with water and slowly walked back to Sasuke's bedroom, ready for another session of healing. Mid-sip, she walked in on Sasuke, sitting up, eyes open, in his bed.

Choking on the water and almost spitting it all over the floor, Sakura sputtered, "Ah! Oh, so y-you're awake! Heheh, uh sorry, um, you see, here's what happene-"

"Sakura," he interrupted abruptly. "Calm down. Your nervousness... It's... annoying."

Her heart and stomach dropped, while Inner-Sakura burst into tears.  
_Even when I try my best, I'm still annoying around him_! she moaned inwardly.

Sasuke looked at her crestfallen face. Though he had said it with the intention of making her more comfortable around him, it obviously did not have the desired effect.

"I would rather you just be yourself," he added in hopes that it would brighten her mood.

She smiled with a tinge of sadness at him. "I thought I was annoying that way too."

"Yes, but slightly less," he smirked.

Losing the sadness in her grin, she continued with, "Alright, smarty pants, here's what happened..."

He listened attentively to the account. Yes, he vaguely recalled trying to dodge one of Naruto's attacks before being crushed by his sage mode-enhanced rasengan.

"There's just one thing I don't understand," Sakura said after she finished. "Last time I checked, you were Sasuke Uchiha, with the famous Uchiha speed. You should've been able to dodge the attack, shouldn't you have?"

Suddenly recalling how he stumbled after hearing Sakura yell in pain, his ears turned a slightmred, but he replied calmly, "Naruto was quite fast while under Ino's jutsu, and it was unexpected."

Why did he stumble, anyway? Sakura's cry shouldn't have affected him at all, but it did. Shaking these thoughts from his head, he asked Sakura, "Are Naruto and Ino okay?"

"Yes, they're fine. Both passed out after you were attacked, and I checked them out. Perfectly fine."

Though he said nothing to this response, he was immensley relieved on the inside. He didn't want to admit it, but since returning to Konoha, he had already become attached to most of his comrades already.

"Alright...Well, it's getting late, I should probably head back to my apartment now." Sakura said, getting up to move towards the door. Changing her tone to her professional medic voice, she told him strictly , "No over-exerting yourself. You need at least three days of bed rest before doing any training or athletic activities. I will be checking in on you tomorrow, and you know what to call if you need me."

"Three days of bed rest? What about my trial?"

"Oh, you'll be fine. It's not like they're gonna ask you to drop and give 'em twenty." she replied, waving him off.

As he nodded at this, she got up to go again. But before she could leave, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. Looking into her eyes, he said seriously and sincerely, "Sakura...Thank you."

Sakura stood there, frozen, swallowing hard. A memory she had tried to keep locked up came creeping out again. A memory where ne had said those exact words before abandoning her and the village.

It took all she had to take back her arm, say good night, and calmly walk out, all while his observant black eyes watched her.

"Whoa! Kurenai Sensei, you're huge!"

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata scolded.

Chuckling to herself, Kurenai waved them. "Oh, no, it's quite alright. After all, its true," she said, indicating her protruding belly.

"You're still beautiful, sensei," Hinata said, smiling.

"Thank you, Hinata, you're very kind. Antway, how is training going for you guys? Any improvement?"

Shino nodded saying, "We had some nice, challenging spars today, though we did run into a little difficulty."

Kurenai raised her eyebrows at this. "Difficulty?"

Kiba sat down heavily in a nearby chair and sighed heavily, lapsing into the story.

When he had finished, their sensei was astounded. "Oh my goodness! That's terrible! Is everybody alright?"

"Yes, Naruto and Ino were both checked out by Sakura, who said they were fine. Sasuke, however, is still recovering. Sakura stayed with him at the Uchiha Manor to heal his wounds." Hinata informed her.

"Okay, well, all this chatting and excitemeng is making me a little drowsy, and it's getting late. I think I'm going to go to sleep now. Keep me updated!" Kurenai sensei said.

"Alright, and _you_ keep _us_ updated on the baby!" Kiba said, walking backwards to the door.

After an exchange of hugs and 'goodnights', the young shinobi left for the night.

A/N: Well, school has officially started :(

Review please. Bring some joy into my life. If you're gonna favorite/follow, you might as well review...

Heheh...no? Okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**Special thanks are at the bottom this time!**

**Disclaimer**: Just remembered I should have one of these...Is it required? Whatever. I don't own Naruto!

Enjoy!

Hinata had trouble sleeping that night.

With all of the excitement from earlier in the day gone, she just couldn't keep her thoughts from wandering back to Neji. The scene of his death just kept replaying over and over in her mind. _She _should have been the one to die. _She_ was the one that sacrificed herself by jumping in front of Naruto to save him. But Neji had decided-no, vowed- to protect and save her.

Feeling restless, as she was afraid of the threatening nightmares that would visit her the moment she fell asleep, she decided to get up and take a walk. She knew her father wouldn't even notice, despite his slight newfound respect for her, and whether Hanabi noticed or not, she probably wouldn't even care.

She quietly made her way through her spacious house, slipping on her ninja sandals. She didn't bother changing out of her pajamas, as it was about two in the morning, and she planned to be back soon anyway. Her attire was composed of long black pants and a simple white shirt, embezzled with the Hyuuga clan symbol, over which she wore a purple jacket.

Through the door and down the steps, she continued walking on the path to a popular village road. Though she couldn't see the sky, she was sure they were filled with heavy, dark clouds. The air felt damp and smelled as if it were going to rain soon. Hinata didn't mind rain, though she admitted she usually much preferred sunny weather. It was almost... refreshing to her. Like it was washing away her troubles, leaving her with a clean slate, which was exactly what she needed right now. To be free of the worries anc troubles that stalked her.

Aimlessly she drifted from street to street, not really paying attention to where she was going. Feeling a tiny drip of water on her face, she looked down at the street to see it becoming slowly dotted with rain drops. Instead of rushing for cover as most would have normally done, she instead sat down on a nearby bench and simply stared up at the sky. As the downpour gradually became harder, her face and hair became soaking wet. Even though she was freezing to the bone, she looked up at the black night sky, and smiled.

"Gaahhh!" Naruto sprung up quickly, once again waking up from another nightmare. He knew the routine.

Another nightmare.  
Another ramen.  
Another day with hardly any sleep.

_Man, it's storming like crazy outside, _he thought as booming thunder rattled his insides.

Walking across the ceramic-tiled floor, he massaged his temples with his fingers and was about to pull out yet another cup ramen, when he noticed something strange outside his window. Someone was there. Sitting on the bench outside his house.

_Who in their right mind would be sitting outside in a storm like this?_

Peering closer at the person, he noticed a light purple jacket...pale skin...and purple hair! It was Hinata!

Immediately grabbing his shoes, ge didn't bother with a rain jacket as he rushed outside, yelling her name as he ran.

"Hinata!" he called out. Getting closer, he noticed the weirdest thing of all. She was _smiling._

"Hinataaa!" he called again.

Finally seeming to break out of her daze, she turned her head, shocked, towards the sound of his voice.

"N-naruto-kun?"

"Hinata! What are you doing here!? It's pouring out! You're gonna get hypo...hypoth...hyp-Whatever it's called!" he said, referring to 'hypothermia' which Sakura told him he would get whenever he didn't wear the proper attire on cold-weather missions.

"Come inside my apartment."

Hinata just stared, slightly speechless.

_I must have unknowingly wandered over to where Naruto lives! _Hinata squeaked inside herself. Finally coming to her senses, she violently shook her head no. _Me, in Naruto's_ apartment!? _No way_.

"Um, no! N-no, I'm fine! Just f-fine r-really!" her stutter becoming worse not just because she was talking to Naruto, but because her teeth were chattering.

"Really, Hinata it doesn't matter! It's fine, come on!" he said, pulling her by her arm despite her protests. The moment she stepped into his house, a blush encompassed her entire face, making her look severely sunburned.

Naruto gave her a warm, dry towel. With an awkward smile and a scratch on the back if his head, he said to her, "Uhh, we gotta get you outta those wet clothes... I'll get you some of my old ones that don't fit me anymore..."

She didn't think her blush could have gotten any worse. She was wrong.

After changing into the new, surprisingly comfortable, hand-me-downs, Hinata sat at the kitchen table, wrapped in a blanket, as Naruto boiled the water for two cup ramens.

"So...Why were you out there anyway?" Naruto asked her.

"I...I just wanted...to take a walk. I couldn't sleep," she replied.

"Ah, me neither. That's why I saw you in the rain. Couldn't sleep."

"What was wrong?" she asked curiously.

"Couldn't I ask you the same thing?" he smirked. "Well, I've just been having some nightmares lately..."

Hinata was shocked at this. _Naruto-kun has nightmares too?_

Seeing her worried and surprised face, he finished quickly, "Oh, but they're no big deal, really! ...So... why couldn't you sleep?"

She looked down at her lap as she muttered quietly, "I have been having nightmares as well."

Naruto's face showed the same expression as Hinata's worried/surprised reaction, and Hinata copied Naruto's response. "They are, um, no big deal either really! No, no big deal!"

"Tell you what," Naruto said, pouring the boiling-hot water into the cups. "I'll tell you about mine, if you tell me about yours."

Hinata agreed to this, seeing it as reasonable.

Normally, Naruto would have never have opened up so quickly and easily to someone about his nightmares, but there was just something about Hinata...She was so quiet and calming, it just made him feel more mellowed out and relaxed.

"Alright then, let's get started. I'll go first."

** A/N**: Like it? Hate it? Either way, REVIEW! :)

**Special thanks to...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, .395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following and favoriting!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Special thanks to...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, .395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and favoriting!

**CHAPTER 11**

"...and so, I just see myself, over and over, killing or hurting the ones I love. And I can't stop it! It just... It just happens..." Naruto said emotionally, looking down at his hands in his lap. "It's like...By me being a jinchuriki...In the war, I technically killed all of those people, because they fought...to protect _me_." The tears pooling in his eyes threatened to spill over. "It's all my fault..." he muttered, the tears now streaming down his cheeks. "All m-my fault."

Hinata looked at the blonde boy sadly, her heart breaking a little more with each word he said. They had moved from the kitchen table to a small couch. Busting through her nervous shell, she managed to put a comforting arm around him without fainting. Rubbing his back, she told him reassuringly, "No, Naruto-kun. The deaths of those people were not your fault. The people chose to fight. They fought to protect their villages, their families and friends, their _world._"

"But in order to do that, they had to protect m-"

"Yes, I know. But Naruto-kun," she interrupted. "Those people knew they could have died when they entered the war. They knew and still fought anyway. Instead of dwelling over how it was your fault that they passed, you should respect their lives and keep working to protect what they died for."

Naruto was quiet at this. Then, he slowly raised his hands to wipe the tears off his face. Looking up at her with his azure eyes, he gave her a dazzling smile and said, "You know what? You're right. I shouldn't be moping around like this. Not when they sacrificed their lives for me. No! I'm gonna be better, I'm gonna live my life to the fullest for them, and I'm gonna help rebuild the other villages!" he ended with more conviction.

Hinata gave him a small smile. She wished she could have Naruto's positive and confident attitude...

Leaning back in his chair, he looked up at her expectantly. "Well? A deal's a deal. Spill it!"

Hinata looked at him confusedly, then suddenly remembered. Her stomach dropped.

_Well, I did agree. I guess I just have to tell him about _my_ nightmares now.  
_  
Nodding at him, she started. "O-okay... Well, you know how Neji-niisan...h-how he, um, passed in the war?"

Naruto's smile was wiped off his face. "Yes," he answered solemnly.

"Well, um... L-like you, my nightmares are about how...I feel guilty that he... th-that he d-died for m-me," she said, choking out that last part.

"Because he was cursed to protect me...he died..." It was Hinata's turn to cry.

"Hey, hey, hey," Naruto said to her, rubbing her shoulder like she had done for him. "Just like me, remember? Neji _chose _to die, and he did it because he cared about you. *Not* because he was cursed."

Even though Hinata had expected he would say this to her, the words still calmed her immensely.

"Ne, Hinata-chan, remember when you, me, Neji, and Sakura were on that one mission to escort that fancy business guy to-" he was interrupted suddenly by a tiny snore coming from his left. He smiled at the girl leaning her head against his shoulder, sleeping soundly.

He sat there for a few more minutes, savoring the peaceful calm feeling he was experiencing. Finally starting to get tired, he gently picked Hinata up in his arms, careful not to wake her, and walked through the kitchen, peering at the clock as he went by.

4:47 AM it read. _Man, when did it get so late?_ he thought, shaking his head. _Time flies when you're confessing some of your deepest feelings._

Reaching his bedroom, he looked around and immediately wished he had taken some time to clean it. He settled Hinata on his unmade bed.

_Guess I'll just sleep on the ground. _he thought as he cleared away some of the dirty laundry and old ramen piled up on the floor.

He pulled out a sleeping pad from his closet and opened it up on the ground, smoothing it out as he made to lie down on it. Closing his eyes, he laid there and meditated on the things Hinata had told him.

It was a couple hours later that night. Naruto had been drifting in and out if consciousness the entire night, not because of nightmares, just from random restlessness. During a moment he was awake, he heard sudden whimpers from across the room.

_Hinata!_ he remembered.

He got up quickly and padded over to where she was sleeping. Tossing and turning in her sleep, he heard her mutter a few "no's" and "Don't do it!". Taking her by the shoulders, she gently shook her awake.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. Hinata! Get up, you're just having another nightmare."

Finally waking up, Hinata turned to him and immediately burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

"I-it w-was... It was the s-same dream! I watched N-neji-niisan sacrificed himself for m-me *again*!"

Without hesitation, Naruto crawled into the bed and wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh...It's okay..." he whispered to her, caressing her hair. "Just go back to sleep, it'll all be okay in the morning."

"B-but I d-don't want to have another nightmar-"

"You won't. I promise. Trust me."

Nodding against him, she buried her face in his neck, not even the least bit embarrassed by their close proximity. She closed her eyes, calmed by the feel of his hand touching her hair.

"Fankfew..." she mumbled against his skin.

Naruto chuckled to himself, and in that moment, he realized something. Looking down at the indigo-haired girl he held in his arms, he realized that maybe, just maybe, he had feelings for her.

Maybe he loved her.

**A/N**: Good? Bad? REVIEW! :)  
Woot woot for NaruHina! XD

Replies to some reviews... (Thanks for reviewing BTW!)

Helen delia: Ten Ten came... She came in with Lee, remember? Then she and Sakura sparred together.

Guest: I really have no idea what happens to Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu though! If someone wants to give me a quick summary of what happens to them in the war, that would be pretty great, and then maybe I'll try to put them in.

OTP-addict: Hahah, your enthusiastic reviews make me laugh!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews: **

**deandre,.,campbell,.,395: **Thanks for the info! Well, I guess I'll try to incorporate them in the story. To anybody out there: any suggested pairings with Jugo, Karin, and Suigetsu?

**Lyeundu: **Wowza! Thanks for the HUGE review! The info was very helpful, as was the constructive criticism (I'll be thinking about that!). Also, I slightly updated Chapter 2 (Sasuke's intro chapter) based on what you told me about why he returned to Konoha. Just a small part really, if anybody wants to check it out. Oh-and Orochimaru gets reanimated and becomes _good_?! Healing the five Kage...Whoa man. When does this happen!? Mind=Blown.**  
**

Anyway, thanks for reviewing. Y'all make me feel special. (Animal Crossing: New Leaf anybody?)

NOTE: I have just realized that for some reason, it won't let me post usernames or parts of usernames with periods in them, so to avoid this, I put commas around the periods. Just saying.

ENJOY, MY PRECIOUS CHILDREN!

**CHAPTER 12**

Sasuke was lying peacefully on the couch in his living room, resting as prescribed by Sakura, when he was abruptly interrupted by loud rapping on his front door.

_What now?_ he thought irritably.

He approached the door slowly, taking his time, as his injuries still hindered him slightly. Opening it up, he was surprised to see his pink-haired comrade impatiently waiting on his door step.

"Good morning!" Sakura said cheerfully, walking in without even waiting to be invited. "Jeez, don't look so shocked to see me. I told you I was coming over to check on you today yesterday, didn't I?"

Returning his face to its normal blank expression, he gave her a curt nod.

_Well, it looks like she's certainly gotten a lot more comfortable around me.* he thought as he watched her flop down on his couch. *Still not clear as to whether that's a good or bad thing.._.

"So, any unusual pain? Discomfort? Dizziness?" she asked him.

"No," he shook his head.

"Alright, well, sit down over here and let me check you out just in case," she said, patting the spot beside her.

Walking over to her, trying to hide his slight limp, he handed her his broken arm to check first. He inwardly prayed that everything would be fine so that he could get back to his regular training schedule.

After finishing his arm, she moved to examine the rest of his injuries, all of which she scanned with her medical ninjutsu.

"Mmhmmm... Yup. Everything seems to be healing just fine. Just two more days of bed rest and I think you'll be good as new!" she said, looking up at him. At that moment, her stomach let out a large growl. Embarrassed, she patted it sheepishly. "Heheh... How about some lunch? Let's go get some ramen at Ichiraku!"

"No thanks, I'm not very hungry." he replied.

"Oh, come on! Some fresh air will do you good! It'll also help with your trial," she told him.

He gave her a confused look at this.

Sighing, she continued, "People need to see you up and about in the village! It'll help them get more familiar with you. Staying couped up inside all the time is just making you seem more suspicious and creepy. It's just letting the rumors grow. More people who like you equals better trial outcome. You *do* want to get a good outcome, right?"

He gave her an annoyed look. What is it with people accusing him of *wanting* to be guilty?

With a resigned shrug, he grudgingly said, "Fine. Let's go."

On the way to the ramen shop, Sakura blabbed on and on to him about "this in the hospital" "that in the village" "this with Ino". He didn't mind though. If he tuned her out, it was kind of like a calming background noise.

Pausing in the midst of her blabber, she looked up and waved at a pair of people already at the restaurant.

"Naruto! Hinata! Heeeyy!"

She lowered her voice to whisper to him, "Oh my gosh, don't they make such a cute couple? Hinata's been crushing on him _forever_ and I think he finally realizes it! Eeeeek! Oh my gosh, do you think they're on a date? This is so exciting! I've gotta tell Ino and Ten Ten!"

Sasuke just raised his eyebrows at her and turned back to look at Naruto and the Hyuuga girl.

*I always thought Naruto liked Sakura... When did that change? And when did he and Hinata get so close?* He wondered sadly how much he had missed while he was gone.

Naruto called out to him, breaking him out of his gloomy reverie.

"Oi! Teme! How ya feelin'?"

"Fine"

Naruto smirked at him. "You know... Technically, by you getting injured, I just beat you in a sparring match."

"Tch. You weren't even conscious. Doesn't count."

"Does so!"

"Does not."

"Does s- OWW! ...Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined. "Why do you gotta hit so hard?"

"I'll keep hitting hard until you two stop acting like little kids," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Well, why didn't Sasuke get a hit?"

Reaching over, she painfully bashed Sasuke on the head. Smiling widely, she turned to Naruto and said kn a cheery voive, "Better?"

Naruto nodded and smirked as he watched Sasuke rub his sore head.

Sakura turned to Hinata with a gleam of curiosity in her eyes. Hands clapsed behind her back, she rocked on the back of her heels as she asked, "So... What are you and Naruto doing here?"

Hinata attempted to stutter out a reply. "Oh! Uh, we were j-just, uh... W-"

"Having lunch," Naruto finished. Wiggling his eyebrows playfully, he countered, "What are you and Sasuke doing here, eh?" Earning him another whack from his rosette teammate.

"We are _also_ just having lunch," she replied stiffly. Glancing nervously at Sasuke, she was relieved to see him standing expressionless, hands in pockets, as usual.

Sasuke flinched inwardly. He knew Sakura loved him still, but we was fairly certain he didn't feel the same way.

The two of them sat in the adjacent seats to Naruto and Hinata's and placed their orders. Trying to start up a conversation, Hinata asked timidly, "S-so, Sasuke. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. I'll be fine."

"Oh... Well, that is good! A-and your trial? Are you...nervous?"

"No. I'm pretty sure I'm ready." he answered. In the time he'd been back in the village so far, he'd never heard the quiet girl talk quite so much.

"That is good too! I will be hoping for a good verdict," she said sincerely, smiling at him.

Sasuke was slightly taken a back at her friendliness, as he barely knew Hinata. He barely knew her, and she still wished him well. She treated him like a friend. She treated him as she would Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, and the rest.

He looked at Naruto who gave him a large grin and a thumbs up.

"You know it, Teme, we'll be backin' you up one hundred percent!"

"Definitely!" Sakura joined in, smiling widely.

And maybe, just maybe... He considered all of them his friends as well.

Maybe... He wasn't as alone as he thought he was.

A/N: Like? Dislike? Critiques? REVIEW, PRETTY PLEASE! :)


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, .Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews:**

**OTP-addict: **Yeah, No SasuHina, that was pretty much just to show that Sasuke has friends and what not... But man, I just realized it did kinda seem like that! Haha

**deandre,.,camplbell,.,395: **No, you're absolutely right! Literally right before I clicked on reviews, I thought to myself, "You know, this story is going kinda slow...You should speed it up!" So, I'm gonna try to make things happen now! Hahah, the only problem is getting the ideas...

**Lyeundu**: Thanks for another awesomely long review! Hmmm... Orochimaru is a confusing one... Anyway, will do! P.S. I don't think I'll be putting Karin, Jugo, or Suigetsu in the story, sorry if this disappoints anybody :( . It's just too hard for me to fit them in. Sowwy!

Enjoy! (Longest chapter yet!)

**CHAPTER 13**

Sasuke stiffly walked up the long flight of stairs in front of him. His trial was today, and it was being held in one of the rooms of the Hokage Residence. His heart was beating faster than he would have liked, and with each step he got closer to the room, he got more and more nervous. Reaching the top of the steps, he kept his face blank as he opened the door.

"Sasuke! Finally! You're here!" he heard a woman say.

He turned to see Sakura, waving at him.

"So, you nervous? Don't be! You're gonna be fine! Just fine! Nothing's gonna happen. Nope nope nope, you'll be just fine!" Sakura blabbered nervously.

Raising his hand up, he stopped her abruptly and said calmly, "Sakura, calm down. You're more nervous than me, and _I'm _the one going on trial."

"So...You're not nervous?"

Deciding he could be honest with her, he said seriously, "I didn't say that."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine," she replied. Sasuke was relieved she was able to settle down.

"Oh yeah, there's no way Lady Tsunade will give you a horrible sentence! No way! Absolutely not! You'll be fine fine fine," she said, once again continuing her nervous chatter.

With an inward sigh, Sasuke just continued walking with Sakura up to where the Hokage was sitting.

"Ah, Sasuke. You're here. Great, we should be able to get started soon," Tsunade said, gesturing to a chair to the right. "Now, why don't you just sit down while we wait for everyone to get here? Sakura, you can take a seat too."

"Yes, ma'am," Sakura replied while Sasuke just nodded politely.

Taking a seat in the uncomfortable chairs that had been set out, Sasuke half-listened to Sakura's babbling while scanning the room.

_I wonder where N-_

"I'M HERE! NARUTO UZUMAKI, READY FOR BUSINESS!"

Collective sighs went around the room, along with a few facepalms.

"Naruto... How nice of you to join us," Tsunade said wearily.

"No problem, Granny. Any time!"

A small voice peeped out behind the orange-clad ninja. "Um, I am also here, Hokage-sama!"

"Hello, Hinata!" She then scowled as she replied to Naruto, "and I thought I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Oh, yeah. I'll be right on it, Granny!"

She just groaned in response, waving him away. "Just go. Go, go, go. Sasuke's over there." she said impatiently, pointing to her right.

"Ah, Teme! Sakura-chan!"

"Hello, S-sasuke! Sakura!"

Sasuke nodded at them in response while Sakura ran up to them with secret excitement.

"Naruto! Hinata! So, you guys came here _together_?" she asked, searching their faces for any piece of extra gossip information.

Hinata reddened, knowing Sakura well enough to realize her true intentions.

Scratching the back of his head confusedly, Naruto answered, "Nah, we just met up at the door. Why?"

Sakura's face fell dramatically as she said, "Oh...no reason. Just wondering," in a disappointed tone.

"Alright," Naruto started, clapping his hands together. "You ready for this Sas-." He stopped suddenly, his face bearing a worried expression. "Sasuke? You okay?"

Sasuke didn't respond. He was rubbing his hands back and forth over his pants, with a panicked expression on his face.

"Sasuke...?" Sakura asked nervously.

"I'll... Be right back. I need some air," he hurriedly replied in a voice as calm as he could make it.

"But-" Naruto protested.

"I'll just be a second."

He didn't want them to see him like this. He was supposed to be Cool, Calm, and Collected, and here he was, freaking out. He rushed out the door and took in a deep breath the moment he hit the cool, outdoor air. He couldn't take the pressure. What if he got sentenced to death? The Uchiha clan would be extinct forever. Or if they took away his ninjutsu?

He heard the door squeak open and ignored it, expecting Naruto to come out and annoyingly pester him.

"Sasuke?" came a familiar _feminine_ voice. It was Sakura.

He raised a hand and waved her off without turning around, not wanting anyone to see his sweating face. "Yes, yes. I'll be back in a minute."

Instead of leaving, she walked up closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Surprisingly, he didn't shrug it off.

"Sasuke... What's wrong? Tell me," she said in a soft voice.

He said nothing, still facing the other direction.

"Sasu-"

"I'm nervous, okay? What if..." he paused, taking in a shaky breath. "What if I get sentenced to jail, or _death_, and my clan nev-"

"Don't talk like that", she interrupted sharply. "You are _not_ going to die."

He was slightly taken aback at her intense resonse.

"You really think Konoha would kill off the _sharingan_? One of our best military assets? They're not going to kill you."

Sasuke saw the logic in her reasoning and calmed significantly.

"Plus, Naruto would throw a big fit, and I'm pretty sure Lady Tsunade doesn't want to deal with that," she continued.

Sasuke smirked, relaxed again. "And you wouldn't?"

"No, I'd probably just go into depression!" she said jokingly, but Sasuke's gut clenched with guilt at the truth in her words.

He forced a half-smile onto his face.

"Alright, well, you ready? Let's go in now," she said, pulling on his arm.

He nodded silently, but before she could pull him inside, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. He wasn't sure exactly what posessed him to do it, but he just knew it felt _right_.

Sakura squeaked, clearly shocked, but then smiled and relaxed into the hug. Inner-Sakura squealed and fainted inside her.

"Thank you," he told her solemnly.

"No problem,"

Releasing their hold on eachother, they headed back inside to face the trial.

"...Uchiha Sasuke is faced with the following charges: abandoning Konoha, aiding Orochimaru, attempted capture of the eight-tails, invasion of the Five Kage Summit, multiple attempts at murder including..."

The list went on and on.

_Well this is going well._ Sasuke thought, starting to panic again slightly. Glancing over at Sakura, he saw her smile at him reassuringly. In their short absence, more people of the Rookie 9 had shown up, and so had Lee and TenTen. They all subtly waved to him, and he dipped his head in acknowledgment. He turned back to the announcer.

"...attacking various ninja," he ended, finishing the long list of crimes.

The hokage cleared her throat. "Yes, thank you. Now, Sasuke, we can all clearly see the list of wrongs you have done. Do you have anything to say about this?"

Trying to relax his face into a more likeable expression, he answered smoothly, "I am thoroughly sorry for any wrongdoings I have committed in the past. I was a fool, and I deserve punishment."

Nodding, Tsunade continued, "Okay, well, though you have committed numerous crimes, you *did* aid us in the war. I, and the other Kage, feel that proves you are on our side, but the issue is not where your loyalties lie. The issue is more towards how you will be punished for the crimes you committed before you returned to Konoha."

"I discussed this with the other Kage as well. They agreed with me that you should not be killed-"

Sasuke let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"-But they _did_ agree with me that you should recieve significant punishment."

...And he sucked it back in._ Significant punishment? How significant?_

"To start off, you will be accompanied by atleast two ninja of chuunin rank or higher (Sasuke heard Naruto swear in the background). But, I will allow you to choose which ninja accompany you, with my approval, of course.. Secondly, you will do extremely large amounts of community service work around this village and other villages. You can still go on missions, but again, with two highly skilled ninja."

"And finally," she said with a smile, "you will be in charge... of a genin team."

Sasuke choked on his own spit while the majority of the audience sat in stunned silence. Others muttered and mumbled amongst themselves. One lady stood up and furiously said, "What!? We can't trust our children around this man! He's a _criminal_!"

"_Former crimina_l," Tsunade corrected. "And remember, there will be two highly skilled ninja watching him at all times. The children will be perfectly safe."

Still not exactly satisfied, the lady sat down in a huff.

_A genin team..._ Sasuke thought to himself.

This wasn't anything he had been expecting as a punishment. Of all the things to give him...A genin team... He still couldn't believe it.

Tsunade formally ended the trial, and people began to file out of the rooms. Approaching him, she told him, "You'll meet your new team tomorrow. Meet at the front of the academy at three o'clock."

"Tsunade-sama."

"Yes?"

"Why assign me a genin team?"

"Because, I believe working with children can really bring out the best in people. Also because it's a lot of hard work, responsibility, and dedication, valuable things to learn. The fact that we're low on teachers right now is also a definite bonus," she smiled.

He gave her an unsure nod. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You're very welcome, _Sasuke-sensei_."

**A/N**: Like it? Dislike it? REVIEW!

Veerrrryy Loooonnnnggg chapter! Longest one yet by far! I wanted the whole trial to be one chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and favoriting!

Oh my goodness, I can't believe I've already gotten SEVEN reviews (Maybe more when I actually post this) for this chapter! You guys are the best! :) :) :)

**Replies to some reviews:**

**shabdika: **MAY SASUKE SUFFER WITH HIS PUNISHMENT! MUAH HA HAAA!

**Sliverdawn97531: **Ahh, Ramen. That's good stuff. See ya on AC:NL!

**deandre,.,camplbell,.,395: **My confidence = raised 50% :)

**Lyeundu + Ookami,.,makuda + GrayPen: **Yay! I'm so glad you guys like it! I started this story having no idea where it was gonna go, and when I started writing the last chapter, Sasuke dealing with kiddies just popped into my head and I thought, "Hey, why not?" XD

Enjoy! O tanoshimi kudasai!

**CHAPTER 14**

"I can't believe they're letting _you _deal with _kids!" _Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke shrugged. Too prideful to let it go, he then inquired, "What? You think I can't handle it?"

"Pshh... I _know _you can't handle it. You've got, like, zero patience. I'll be surprised if you make it through the year without frying a kid with your Chidori."

"I doubt their parents will be very happy about it..." Sakura added.

Sighing, Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and said, "The Hokage said it will teach me responsibility and loyalty or something..."

"I-I'm sure you will do just fine, Sasuke!" Hinata peeped.

He nodded towards her, slightly distracted by thoughts of manning his own genin team. J_ust as long as they're not totally obnoxious... Like Naruto..._

"Kay, well, me and Hinata are gonna go get some ramen. Wanna come?" Naruto asked Sakura and Sasuke.

"No thanks." Sasuke answered. He needed to go home and get his life in order. He was still scatterbrained from the results of the trial.

"You guys are going to Ichiraku's? _Alone?" _Sakura prodded excitedly.

"Well...I guess, if you aren't coming, that is," Naruto replied, obviously confused by Sakura's weird answer.

"No, no. You guys go ahead!" she said, moving them along with her hands. "Have fun!"

"Bye!" they chorused back.

After watching the unlikely pair walk away, Sasuke turned to Sakura with a smirk on his face. "Going to get Ino and TenTen?"

"You bet!" she replied, sprinting away.

Sasuke shook his head and rolled his eyes. As annoying as she was, Sakura was oddly endearing.

... ... ... ...

_"_The usual, pops!" Naruto ordered, cheerily.

"I will have the same thing, please!" Hinata added in after him.

Since the night Hinata spent at his house, they had definitely gotten closer, going out to get ramen together almost everyday. And though they never mentioned it, both were always thinking about that night whenever they met up. Hinata thought it was weird in the fact that instead of making her even more awkward and nervous around Naruto, it made everything easier and she felt more comfortable around him.

Clapping their hands together, they exclaimed, "Itadakimasu!" as their ramen was set out in front of them.

"So, what's up?" Naruto asked her, drumming his hands on the counter in a rhythmic pattern.

"Nothing, really. Y-you?"

"Nah, same. Man, can you believe Sasuke is going to be in charge of a genin team? He'll be like Kakashi or Kurenai-sensei!"

"Yes, it is quite strange," she gave him a small smile as she said dreamily, "I always kind of wanted to work with children at the academy,"

"You'd be good at it," Naruto replied seriously.

"I-I would?" she returned, quite surprised.

"Yeah, of course! You're so caring and gentle... All the kids would love you!"

Hinata blushed fiercly.

_Naruto thinks I'm caring and gentle!_

_"_You would be good at it as well," she said.

"What? No way."

"Yes!" she replied earnestly. "You were so good with Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon! They adored you. You have a certain thing about you that just... Makes people want to follow you."

"Really?" he said to her, scratching his head embarrassedly. "Well, I don't think I could teach at the academy, but I'd like to lead a genin squad one day. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be one of Sasuke's guar-" he stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"I... Just remembered... I'm... Still a genin."

"So...?"

"So... I can't be one of Sasuke's guards. High level chuunin or jounin only."

"You c-could easily be classified as a jounin, though!" she protested. "I think you should talk to the Hokage."

"Yeah... Yeah, maybe I will! Thanks, Hinata!" he replied happily. "You know, I think I'll do it right now!" Slurping up the rest of his noodles, he got out of his seat and gave her hand a squeeze. With a blinding-white smile, he said, "Thanks again! See ya later!"

She smiled back, though slightly disappointed that he was leaving so soon. "Bye!"

... ... ... ...

Sakura, Ino, and TenTen were across the road, scarves and sun glasses covering their appearances. They held newspapers up to their face, professional-spy-style.

"Oh my God, this is intense," TenTen whispered.

Ino and Sakura nodded in earnest.

"About time Naruto got his head out of his ass and realized what was right in front of him," Ino muttered. "I was getting tired of waiting!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What's he doing?" Sakura said.

"No! He'a getting up! Gahh, it was just getting good!" TenTen whined.

"...And, his head is back in his ass." Ino stated promptly.

"Wait! Did you see that?" Sakura questioned them. "Was that a _hand squeeze_?"

"Oh my goodness. You're right."

"Yeah, I saw it!"

They simultaneously looked at eachother and squealed with excitement.

... ... ... ...

"GRANNY!" Naruto yelled as he burst into the Hokage's office. "I've got something to a-" He skidded to a halt as he realized that Sasuke, too, was in the room. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

"I was called here, dobe." _And just as I was beginning to relax too..._

"Actually, Naruto, I was just about to call you in here too. I have something to tell the both of you." Tsunade butted in.

"Hmm? What? What? What?" Naruto pestered her excitedly.

"Well, I'm sure you both remember that record-wise, you are both still genin."

Naruto interrupted, "Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about. When's the next Chuunin Ex-"

"Let me finish," she said, raising up her hand as a signal to stop. "As I was saying, you are both still genin. This affects the type of missions you go on, Naruto's ability to be one of Sasuke's guards, and Sasuke's ability to become a sensei. This was discussed along with Sasuke's trial at the meeting with the Five Kage. We have all agreed that putting you two in the Chuunin Exams would not only be a waste of time, but unnecessarily endanger the other young contestants. The war was proof enough with how strong you've gotten.

Sasuke raised his brows. "So... What you're saying is.."

"What I'm saying is, instead of going through the exam, it was unanimously decided that you two both will automatically be promoted...to jounin.

A/N: Like? Dislike? REVIEW! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and favoriting!

**HIP HIP HOORAY FOR _LABOR DAY WEEKEND!_**

**Replies to some reviews...**

**JThawN: **Haha, of course you're on the thanks list! You followed the story! ...And now you've reviewed, so thanks!

**OTP-addict: **Yeah, I don't like it either, but I think it's supposed to be like a symbolism thing or something... Like Naruto's a great ninja now but still a genin. Or maybe he'll be like the only ninja to go from genin to Kage!

**JadenCage: **First the Hokage... THEN THE WORLD! Hehe...

**GrayPen: **I always thought that too! Plus Sakura, of course. All three of them studied under the legendary sannin... Maybe it'll come up later ;) As for Kakashi, I never really thought he'd be with anyone, what with the guilt with Rin and everything, but I'll look into it! Mei Terumi would be cool, but kind of hard to fit in the story... Suggest someone from Konoha maybe?

**CHAPTER 15**

"JOUNIN!?" Naruto yelled disbelievingly. He then proceeded to dance a one-person conga line. "Jounin jounin jounin, Cha! Jounin jounin jounin, Cha!"

Sasuke stood rooted in place, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Alright, alright. Settle down, Naruto," the Hokage said, though she said it with a smile. Rummaging around in her desk, she pulled out two army-green vests. "Here...are your jounin vests," she said, handing them to the two.

"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, immediately shrugging it on. "Ahh, fits like a glove. I've been waiting my whole life for this moment."

Sasuke slipped his vest on too. "I thought you were waiting your whole life to be Hokage," he smirked.

"What, a person can't wait for more than one moment?"

"Whatever, dobe,"

Tsunade put her head in her hand and rolled her eyes. "Congratulations. Now if you could wait until you are _outside_ to bicker that would be great."

Nodding, Sasuke bowed to her and said, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Yeah, thanks Granny!"

"Have a good day, you two."

Hinata was still eating her ramen at Ichiraku, when she heard whispering and squealing behind her. Turning around, she looked to see three scarved-figures suddenly duck their heads under newspaper.

_What the... Oh, not again!_ She sighed heavily. "I know you're there! You can stop hiding," she called out.

The three 'mystery' girls slammed their newspapers down on the table and removed their disguises with disappointed faces. "Damn. How'd you know it was us, Hinata?" Ino asked.

"Please, you g-guys are always following Naruto and me around,"

"But we were so careful this time!" TenTen whined.

"Well, I suppose the sqealing wasn't a very good idea," Sakura added.

"Why can't you guys just leave it alone?" Hinata asked wearily.

"Because! Naruto finally knows how you feel about him! And I think he likes you too!" Sakura insisted.

Hinata blushed. "Y-you're just saying that!"

"No, I'm seri-"

"OI! HINATA! SAKURA-CHAN!" An excited Naruto came sprinting up to them, followed by a walking Sasuke.

"What are we, chopped liver?" Ino muttered to TenTen.

"Back again, eh Naruto? What's up?"

"Notice anything _different_ about me?" Naruto asked, turning around in a circke with his arms raised.

"I-is that a jounin vest?" Hinata asked. "You asked Tsunade abd she made you a j-jounin!" she said with awe.

"Yup!" He then unexpectedly grabbed Hinata in a bone-crushing hug and twirled her around, laughing.

"Oh my god! Congratulations!" Sakura exclaimed, elbowing Ino and TenTen at the sight of the two.

Sasuke finally caught up to them. They noticed he too was clothed in a jounin vest.

"You too? Oh my gosh, wow!" Sakura said, throwing her arms around him. Sasuke gave her a happy smirk.

TenTen raised her eyebrows at Ino behind them. "Since when does Sasuke Uchiha accept human contact?"

Setting Hinata down, Naruto told them cockily, "Granny Tsunade told me I was too great for the Chuunin Exams,"

"_Us_, dobe. _Us_. She said the five Kage all agreed that it was pointless to put us in the chuunin or jounin exams because we're already too advanced."

"Well, that's amazing!" Sakura said. As excited as she was for her two teammates, she was slightly upset with the fact that she was behind them once again_. I'll just have to work even harder_ she thought to herself.

"Well, I'll see you guys later." Naruto said. "I'm gonna go tell Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee, Kiba, and..."

"Shino!" Hinata added exasperatedly.

"Right! Then Kakashi-sensei, and Pops and Ayume... I need to meet up with Gaara sometime soon..." he rambled on.

"Alright, Naruto." Sakura chuckled. Bye!"

They all waved to the hyperactive ninja as he jogged away.

Ino sighed. "Guess the rest of us have to do it the old-fashioned way. Though I am surprised you didn't get promoted, Sakura. You're the best medic in the hospital, *and* you've practiced under the Hokage."

"I agree!" TenTen added.

Sakura blushed slightly and shrugged. "Maybe I just have more work to do."

"Well, I guess the rest of us just have to do it the old-fashioned way," Ino said, elbowing Sasuke in the ribs. "We can't all be as lucky as you and Naruto."

Sasuke rubbed his side. "Right. 'lucky,'" he retorted.

Ino swore as she looked at the clock on the wall of a nearby store. "Shit! I'm late for my shift at the flower shop! I'll catch you guys later, 'kay?"

"That reminds me, I scheduled an appointment with a weapon's maker, and I've got to meet him in... Ten minutes! Gaahhh! Where did the time go?"

The two kunoichi waved goodbye as they rushed to their appointments.

"...And then there were two." Sakura said, turning to Sasuke.

"I agree with Ino and TenTen," he said out of nowhere.

"W-what? Agree about what?"

"You becoming jounin."

"It's fine! I've still got room for improvement..." she replied.

"Aa..." he replied. "I've got to go."

"What? Where?" she asked.

"I've just... got some errands to do."

"Mmmhmmm..." Sakura said, not convinced one bit. "I'll... catch you later then!"

Sasuke nodded and said, "Yeah, okay. Bye."

"Bye!"  
_And... then there was one._

Sasuke walked into the Hokage's office for the third time that day.

"Back again? I've seen far too much of you today, Uchiha," Tsunade said. "What's the matter?"

"I'm here to talk to you about Sakura."

A confused expression came on her face. "Sakura? Whatever for?"

Getting straight to the point, he told her bluntly, "She wasn't promoted to jounin."

"Is that what this is about?"

Sasuke stared at her.

"Well, if you must know, I was actually _going_ to promote her to jounin. Tomorrow, in fact. She's working her shift at the hospital then, and I wanted to tell her in private."

Sasuke nodded, feeling slightly stupid.

"If I may, Sasuke, why do you care? It is quite surprising to me that you came all the way here just to tell me Sakura should be a jounin."

Sasuke shrugged. "She deserves it."

"Hmm, okay. If you say so," she replied, hiding her smile.

Sasuke bowed and walked out of the room, thinking to himself,

_Why do I care?_

**A/N:** Like it? (_Love it?_ hehe, TraptWolf94) Dislike it? REVIEW!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews...**

**Kljhorse**: Thanks for the cookies! :)

**Sakura 8D: **Thanks a million for the super long review! Your pointers were very helpful. You see, I'm hopelessly pathetic at typing on my iPod touch screen, so I use my 3DS to type it in an email draft, which I then copy and paste using the iPod (complicated, I know). Anyway, you can't italicizes on the 3DS, so I use asterisks to remind me to change it on the iPod, but sometimes I miss them. I'll make sure to triple check next time, so really, THANK YOU!

**Ayrmed: **Ahh, Ayrmed. I can always count on your regular reviews. Thanks!

**Ryujin65: **Haha, gotta love NaruHina! As for InoChou... Yes, that is pretty cute! I was thinking maybe SaixIno, but I don't really know anymore. I know a lot of people really like NejiTen, so no offense when I say this, but I actually really don't like that pairing. I never really see TenTen or Neji with anybody... But TenTen and Kankuro... That could be cool! I'm pretty much primarily SasuSaku, NaruHina, and ShikaTem (Which hasn't come up yet but will!) Thanks for the suggestions!

**GrayPen: **Gahhh! I couldn't open up the picture! I tried copying and pasting it a bunch of times in different ways and it didn't work. :( I really appreciate the thought though!

**TraptWolf94: **"Amazeballs"? You made my day. XD

**OTP-addict:** Yeah, yeah calm your trousers. NaruHina's coming, yo! And yes! WHY IS SASUKE SO BLIND?! (Oh yeah, cause I'm the writer! XP)

**CHAPTER 16**

"I hired two ANBU to look over you for today. They'll be hidden in the trees as to not get in your way. As for the genin, they're right over there," Tsunade said, indicating to a shady spot by the side of the academy. "They'll introduce themselves to you, but I'm sure you'll find yourself feeling like you already know them."

Walking away with a smirk on her face, she left a confused looking Sasuke to stand alone.

..._What the hell did she mean by that?_

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he casually walked over to his new team. They all looked up when they saw him coming. A black-haired boy, clothed in a forest-green and black jumpsuit, leapt up and excitedly pointed a finger at him.

_Oh no... Tell me it's not..._

"OI! IT'S OUR NEW SENSEI! Look guys! Look!"

_Damn it. It is. I have a mini Naruto on my team._

The overly-hyper boy sprinted away from his teammates and ran up to him, getting too close for comfort. He scanned Sasuke's face with squinted veridian eyes.

"Heeyy... Aren't you a little _young_ to be our sensei?"

A petite girl with wavy silver hair and bright violet eyes walked over to them. Wearing a loose white belly shirt and a dark purple skirt, her would-be-exposed skin was completely covered with netting.

Promptly whacking the excited boy on the head, she scolded him, "Ryou! Don't be so rude!" She changed her voice to a tone as sweet as candy and looked up at Sasuke with a bright smile. "Hi! I'm Yumiko!"

..._And, there's Sakura... I guess that leaves... Yup, there's mini-me._

The third genin approached them with stick-straight posture. He had cropped, dark brown hair, and he wore the plain attire of a simple gray shirt and black pants. With a familiar pair of white eyes, he stared at Sasuke cooly and formally introduced himself.

"I am Hiraku Hyuuga." he said, Yumiko gazing at him with adoring eyes.

*Wow. Tsunade was right when she told me I would recognize the, They're basically carbon copies of Team Seven!"

Recovering from his initial shock, he looked at the third boy. "Aa, a Hyuuga, eh? Impressive."

"Pshh, not really," the annoying boy, apparently named Ryou, muttered.

"Take that back!" Yumiko yelled at him, slamming a fist on his head. The young Hyuuga ignored the scene.

Sasuke inwardly sighed.  
_This is going to be just_ great.

Sasuke sat on a park bench near the academy while the three genin seated themselves comfortably on the grass.

"Alright. Let's start by fully introducing ourselves. Tell me your interests, your dislikes... Whatever you want to say," he told them. "Then demonstrate for me one of your abilities or specialties."

"I'll go first!" said the cheery, silver-haired girl. "My name is Yumiko Kimura. I love painting, animals, and archery, and I dislike..." she paused, putting her finger on her chin and tapping her foot. "...eggplant." she said with finality. "Oh! And my special ability..."

Reaching behind her, she grabbed a bow and three arrows from her pack. Loading up the weapon, she positioned herself so that she was aimed at a faraway tree. In one fluid motion, she pulled back the elastic string and released it, the arrows whizzing in a direct route towards the trunk. "Thunk. Thunk. Thunk." They embedded themselves in a nearly perfect straight line across the bark.

"Well done," Sasuke said, sincerely impressed with her abilities. He wondered what she could do if she channeled chakra into those arrows of hers. "Who's next?"

To his surprise, the Hyuuga boy volunteered. "My name is Hiraku Hyuuga. I enjoy training, and I don't really dislike much of anything," he said, giving a slight shrug.

"My special ability would be my bloodline limit and gentle fist technique," he said, activating the Byaakugan. He looked up out towards the sky. "In twenty seconds, six birds will pass overhead."

They waited the said time, and sure enough, six gulls flocked over the academy building.

"I'd demonstrate the gentle fist, but in order to really do that, I'd have to hit one of you." He looked over at Ryou. "Unless you would like to volunteer. I'd be happy to hit you."

"HAH! Like you even could!"

"I'm quite sure of my abili-"

"Alright, alright. Cut it out. Ryou, you're up." Sasuke said, cutting them off.

"Gladly!" Ryou replied, dusting himself off. "Okaaayy, my name is Ryou Yoshida. I like running... Training... Going on missions... Dumplings... Yeah, that's all I can think of right now."

_Atleast he doesn't want to become the Hokage,_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"Oh yeah! Naruto Uzumaki! He's the _coolest_! Do you know him? Huh? Huh? Do ya?"

Sasuke inwardly sobbed. _Damn it, that's even worse!_

"Yes... Yes, I do know him," he gruffly replied.

"AWESOME! Oh my God, could I meet him? Please? Pleeeaaassee?"

_This is just the thing Naruto needs. A super fan to make him even cockier_.

"How about you finish your introduction, and then we'll see."

"Works for me! Okay, so I finished my likes... I dislike... _him_," he said venomously, gesturing to Hiraku, who just raised his eyebrows.

As for my specialty, I'm pretty good at tai jutsu, and I'm fast. I'm not too bad at ninjutsu either." Rubbing his hands together, he said, "Alright, get ready for this!" He did a hand sign and two more Ryou's poofed up. Then, they all speedily advanced on a nearby tree. Each clone hit the trunk a couple times using tai jutsu. Finished, the shadow clones disappeared, leaving Ryou standing next to a fairly beat up tree. "How 'bout that?" he said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Not bad," Sasuke said.

_He's not as hopeless as Naruto was when we started. In fact, I'm quite surprised he's able to make two complete clones._

"Okay, I think that's it for today," he said, standing up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ryou said, making him stop. "You haven't even told us your name, let alone anything about you!"

"Yeah!" Yumiko agreed.

Even Hiraku looked at him expectantly.

Sighing, he sat back down on the bench. He had wanted to avoid this for as long as possible, knowing how they would react. "Fine. My name is... Sasuke Uchiha."

"SASUKE UCHIHA!?" Ryou exclaimed disbelievingly. "The last Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha? Traitor to the village, Sasuke Uchiha? Best friend to _Naruto Uzumaki_, Sasuke Uchiha!?"

"...Yes."

"Whoa," he said, flopping back heavily on the grass. "My sensei... is Sasuke Uchiha."

Yumiko and Hiraku sat frozen in place with shocked expressions on their faces. Awkward silence followed.

After a couple minutes of uncomfortable quiet, Sasuke was both relieved and annoyed to see two familiar figures walking towards him.

"Oi! Teme! We're here to see you work with kiddies!" Naruto called out to him.

"Naruto! Watch your language! He's around kids, remember?" he heard Sakura scold him.

"Heheh, oh yeah..."

Coming up to them, Sakura said happily, "Hi guys! Oh, and Sasuke, we relieved the ANBU and we're taking over as your guards."

"Hey! You're Sakura Haruno! The amazing medic girl we learn about in school! You studied under the _Hokage_." Yumiko said with an amazed expression on her face.

"Heheh... Well, uh... Amazing, huh?" Sakura replied, blushing, but obviously loving the attention.

Yumiko turned to her teammates "Hiraku, don't you remember learning about her? Ry- Ryou? Are you okay?"

Ryou shakily pointed a finger at the yellow-haired ninja and managed to sputter out, "N-na N-nnaaru uhhhh..." before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.

"Whoa! What just happened? What'd I do!?" Naruto asked, panicking.

Sasuke sighed heavily and put his head in his hands.

"...Thanks for coming."

**A/N:** Like it? Dislike it? REVIEW!

I found this chapter kind of hard to write, because of the three new characters, even if I made them to be pretty similar to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura... So tell me what you think!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews...**

**Kljhorse: **Yeah, Sasuke is a bit out of character, but... Oh well! Haha. I've been trying to make the chapters longer, but it's pretty hard for me. I guess they'll probably stay about the same length. Sorry! Oh- and your virtual cupcake? Pretty frickin deelish.

**Ryujin65: **Replied in a PM! :) (You might like some of this chapter)

**OTP-addict: **Yay! Anti-NejiTen buddies! But GASP! You don't like ShikaTem? No... Just get out. I can't virtually look at you anymore.

**Animeprincess2001: **Haha, thanks! I OWE YOU ONE BUTT.

**GrayPen: **I KNOW. Sakura just sat there most of the time. Even when she promised she would get stronger, she STILL did nothing! No, no, I'm hoping Yumiko'll be a lot better.

**Shabdika + GeeksAnonymous211 + Ayrmed:** Thanks! :)

**TraptWolf94:** Man crush? You're killing me here. XD

**Something random I just wanna tell you guys...**

Alright, so I had the WEIRDEST dream last night. I was sitting on the couch when all of a sudden I thought to myself, "Hey, didn't I have a guy who looked just like Neji in my class?" I kept thinking to myself, "what was his name? It wasn't Neji... What was it?" I kept looking through the yearbooks and I just couldn't find the guy. Then I had a bunch of flashbacks of "Neji" being in my class. When I woke up, I was still confused as to whether or not I went to school with Neji Hyuuga. I'm going crazy, people.

Enjoy **Chapter 17**!

"So, how are they? Do you like them?" Sakura asked Sasuke as the three of them walked away from the academy.

After having finally woken up Ryou, he sat up only to faint a second time when he saw his 'hero' asking him if he was okay. Making Naruto stand behind the building, out of sight, they managed to wake him up a second time. Making sure he was okay, they had sent him and the other two on their way.

"They're... okay. I haven't really seen their full abilities or gotten to know them."

"Well, I like that Yumiko girl," she said casually.

He smirked at her. "Only because she called you amazing."

"What!? I'll have you know that I genu-"

"Yeah, yeah, you guys sound like you're married or something. The _coolest_ one is obviously Ryou!" Naruto said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Pshh, only because he's your number one fan!" Sakura retorted.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her. "Hypocrite," he mumbled.

"What was that?" Sakura replied in a dangerously sweet tone.

"Nothing," he shrugged.

"Mmhmmm... So what are you doing with them tomorrow?"

"...I suppose I'll set up something like the bell challenge Kakashi did with us to test their skills and strategy. See how they work together."

"Oh, _that_ will be fun to watch," Naruto said.

"Definitely," Sakura agreed.

"Who said I chose you two to be my guards?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and stared pointedly at him. "Oh, so who do you pick then? You have _so_ many _best friends_ and _comrades_ to choose from!" she said sarcastically. Naruto snorted behind her.

Sasuke scoffed but said nothing in return.

"...That's what I thought," she said smugly.

"You summoned me, Tsunade-sama?" came a lazy voice from outside the Hokage's office.

"Right, yes. Come in, Shikamaru."

The Nara boy sauntered in the room, hands in his pockets. "So... what's up?"

Ignoring his disrespectful demeanor, she took a swig from the sake in her hand and said, "I'm sure you'll be familiar with this assignment, as I've assigned it to you before."

He gave her a confused look.

"I have invited the Kazekage over to discuss political matters, and I need you to once again be the 'welcoming committee', so to speak."

"Ah." he replied shortly.

"You up for it?"

"It'll be troublesome, but I'll do it."

"Great. You can go now,"

Bowing, he turned around to slouchingly walk out the door, but before he could exit, she called out to him.

"Oh, and Shikamaru. Just so you know, Kankuro and Temari will be joining the Kazekage as his guards. Rumour has it, you and that girl have gotten pretty close," she said with a mischievous smile.

"W-what?" he sputtered. "The rumors are _wrong_."

He turned so she couldn't see his face, but she could still see the tips of his ears glowing a bright red as he walked out the door.

A nervous-looking Chouji Akimichi walked up the path leading to the Hyuuga mansion. Upon getting to the door, he paused to rummage through his pockets, pulling out his favorite comfort snack: barbecue-flavored chips. He knocked on the door three times and stepped back. After a couple of moments, a Hyuuga servant opened it up and stared at him with intimidating white eyes.

"Yes?"

Chouji cleared his throat and replied, "Oh, uh... Hi! Is, um, Hinata there?"

The servant looked at him with a calculating stare. "...Yes. One moment please."

"Thank you," Chouji replied, breathing a sigh of relief when the servant closed the door.

_Man, some of these Hyuugas are pretty scary!_

The door opened again. To his relief, it was Hinata. She looked at him with a surprised expression on her face. "Oh! H-hello, Chouji. What are you doing here?" she asked him. "N-not that I don't want you here, no!" she rushed, worried that she offended him.

Chouji laughed and smiled. He liked how Hinata was different from most of the other members of her clan. Instead of the cold, haughty eyes of the rest of the Hyuuga had, she had kind, gentle ones that made you feel comfortable around her. "It's okay, Hinata! I get what you mean. It's not like you and I hang out all the time," he reassured her.

Hinata smiled back. "So, what is it y-you want then?"

Chuckling nervously, he scratched the back of his head and said, "I, uh... I actually needed your help with something. Walk with me?"

Hinata nodded and followed him down the path.

"S-so you really like her then?" Hinata asked him. They had decided to talk over food and were seated at Chouji's favorite barbecue restaurant.

Chouji nodded and blushed. "I just... Don't know how to tell her. Or if I even _should_ tell her. I don't want to ruin our friendship or teamwork."

Hinata nodded. "I think you should just continue to be nice and kind to her. I'll ask Sakura, and w-we'll find out if she likes you."

"Really, Hinata? Oh, that's awesome! Thank you so much!"

"I-it's no problem. I think Ino is lucky to have someone like you admire her. Y-you're a good person, Chouji!" she said with a smile.

Chouji blushed even harder. "You're too nice, Hinata."

Hinata laughed softly at this. "If I m-may ask, why talk to me about this? Why not... Shikamaru?"

"...Well, I just knew Shikamaru or anybody else would make fun of me or something, and I knew _you_ wouldn't laugh."

"I don't think anybody would have made fun of you! B-but still, thank you for trusting me."

"Thank me? No, thank _you_! Here, I'll pay. I ate most of it anyway."

'Most of it' was an understatement.

... ... ... ...

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were still bickering amongst themselves as they walked through the busy streets of Konoha.

"You guys are just jealous you don't have a _number one fa_-" he stopped abruptly as he looked off towards one of the restaurants.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Sakura looked at Naruto. He had a confused and hurt expression on his face. She looked where he was staring. "Ohh..."

Hinata and Chouji were walking out of a restaurant. Stopping to give Hinata a hug, the Akimichi boy turned and walked away, waving.

"Naruto, I'm sure it's not wha-"

"What? I'm fine! Oh, that? No, it's nothing." Naruto insisted. "Me and Hinata aren't even together... So it doesn't matter!"

Despite his happy attitude, Sakura could still see the sadness in his eyes. It was a bittersweet victory.

_I knew Naruto liked Hinata! Too bad it had to come out like this..._

"I... I gotta go." Naruto said with a slightly glum voice. "I'll catch you guys later."

As the two of them watched the depressed blonde walk away, Sakura turned to Sasuke and asked worriedly, "Should we do something? I know for a fact that Hinata and Chouji don't like eachother that way at all."

Even Sasuke was slightly deterred by his friends hurt feelings. Shaking his head, he replied, "No, it's none of our business. And I'm sure it'll be fine."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah... Okay. You're right."

They continued walking down the path.

**A/N:** Like it? Dislike it? REVIEW!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, krivera2325, EnvyUchiha, DarkS1, Midnight-Runaway, Monooke-hime x sukai kurora, GAMEONGREENLASER, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, krivera2325, farhanalj, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews...**

**Helen delia: **Sasuke called Sakura a hypocrite because Sakura yelled at Naruto for only liking Ryou because he was his number 1 fan, when Sakura only liked Yumiko because she said she was amazing. I'm not sure Kakashi will even have a love interest in this story... I feel as though he wouldn't want to because of his guilt over Rin's death and what not, but if someone wants to give me some ideas (preferably a woman from Konoha) that would be great! Also, when it says Obito has been taken down, I guess it means he dies, yes. I mean, I have no idea what is gonna happen in the real story, but this is fanfiction... So I can do whatever I want! Hehehe

**Ryujin65: **Woot woot! InoChou! I owe it all to your magnificent plot bunnies! :) I'm thinking a lot of InoChou in either the next chapter, or the next NEXT chapter.

**shabdika: **Oh my goodness... What IS going on!? AHHH! THE SKY IS FALLING!

**OTP-addict: **Mmhmm, you better. God, it's so hard to write ShikaTem because it always seems more like the hate eachother when I write them!

**TraptWolf94:** Ahhh! I cracked up at your mini SasuSaku story. No story was ever more romantic. Oh my goody God, I can't believe my story is reread-while-eating-a-pop-tart-worthy! And you are SO wisdomic when it comes to the affairs of Ino.

**Kljhorse: **I. WANT. THAT. VIRTUAL. DOG. I also read and reviewed your story! It's great! :)

**Ayrmed: **Yes! Quit being stupid Naruto! OPEN YO EYEEEESSS!

I was super happy with the reaction to InoChou. You guys can thank Ryujin65 for that idea! ENJOY CHAPTER 18, MY HOMIES. Also, this chapter is a lot longer, since you guys had to wait longer than usual.

"Ahh, back in Konoha! Feels good to see something other than sand once in a while, eh Gaara?" Kankura said, stretching his arms over his head, his back cracking sickeningly.

"Yes. It is quite nice," Gaara replied in his usual 'off' way.

"Wonder who's gonna lead us around this time," Kankuro said. Turning to Temari, he continued with a smirk, "I'm _sure_ you remember who it was last time."

"You better shut the hell up before I kick you into next month," the tomboyish kunoichi replied threateningly.

He held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Hey now! Come on, Tem. You know I'm just teasing! Besides, Gaara and I would beat any boy that laid a hand on you into a pulp," he finished, cracking his knuckles. "Right, Gaara?"

Gaara gave them a rare smile. "Oh, yes. Definitely"

Rolling her eyes at her two idiotic brothers, Temari said, "Mmhmmm. I'd like to see _that_ happen."

Kankuro looked up and peered into the distance, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Well... Would you look who it is!"

Temari looked as well and inwardly facepalmed.  
_This is going to be just fantastic._

Shikamaru strolled up the rocky path to the village gates. He could already see the three sand shinobi waiting there. Kankuro waved when he saw him coming, and Shikamaru raised his hand back in acknowledgement. Getting close enough, he said casually, "Hey, Gaara, Kankuro... Fan-girl."

"What did you call me?" 'Fan-girl' replied angrily.

Undeterred by the frightening woman, Shikamaru replied innocently, "Fan-girl. Why? Would you prefer Blondie?"

Temari crossed her arms over her chest in a haughty manor. "So long as I can call you lazy bones. Or better yet, _cry baby_."

"Ooh, this is getting intense," Kankuro whispered to Gaara.

"Why are you here anyway? Isn't this job too _troublesome_ for you?" she continued.

"Ah. The Hokage didn't want to re-explain the job to someone. But you're right. Being with you _is_ troublesome."

Temari huffed. "Whatever. Just start leading us, cry baby."

He smirked mischieviously. "Aye aye, Fanny-chan."

Hinata sat alone at Ichiraku ramen, wondering worriedly where Naruto was.

_I haven't seen him in a while... Where could he be? Did I do something wrong?_

She then heard Sakura call out her name, effectively breaking her train of worried thoughts.

"Hinata!" she yelled, jogging towards her. She sat down in the stool next to her. "Hey! So, uh... How's it going? You eating here alone?" Sakura asked, trying to sound casual. She recalled what Sasuke had said to her about staying out of other people's business, but she just couldn't help it. Not when Naruto and Hinata were in pain.

Hinata looked at her with a slightly disappointed face. "N-no... I thought he would meet me here, but he... Didn't show up."

"Oh, well... I'm sure he's fine! But, uh, maybe you should go see him at his house later today... You know, see what's up."

Hinata nodded slowly. She knew Sakura knew something, but didn't press it any further.

"Oh! I w-was actually going to go talk to you today about something," Hinata said, remembering what she promised Chouji.

"Oh, really? What?"

"Well, Someone a-actually talked to me about... about them liking Ino," Hinata said, smiling largely.

"INO!? No way. Who!?" Sakura asked excitedly, her Inner-Sakura leaking out.

"...Chouji."

"CHOUJI!? OH. MY. FRICKIN' GOD. I knew it."

"Y-you did?" Hinata surprisedly asked.

"Well, no. But still, that's ADORABLE."

Hinata nodded enthusiastically. "So, anyway, he asked m-me to find out of Ino likes him back. Do you know if she likes anybody right now?"

"Hmmm..." Sakura sat there thinking, her finger tapping on her chin. "I really have no idea. Maybe we could _squeeze_ it out of Ino," she said mischieviously.

Checking the clock on the wall, she told Hinata, "It's about two o' clock. She should actually be on her break from the flower shop right now... Ah! There she is!" she exclaimed, pointing down the street. "Ino!" she called, the both of them waving her over.

"What's up?" the blonde asked, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder.

"Sit down," Sakura said. "Um, Hinata and I were just wondering... Uh, wondering..."

"How your Ino-Shika-Cho formation is going!" Hinata finished quickly.

"Yeah, that!" Sakura added.

Clearly taken aback at the random question, Ino replied, "Oh! Uh, pretty good I guess. Our reaction time has gotten a lot faster in training lately."

"Awesome! How about your teamwork? You know, Chouji and Shikamaru... You and Chouji... You and Shikamaru... _You and Chouji?_"

"Also... Pretty good, I guess? Why do you ask?" Ino asked, a befuddled expression on her face.

"Oh, j-just wondering! Give us some details!"

"Well... Chouji and Shikamaru have always worked well together, you know that. Best friends and all. But, I've improved a lot in working with them too. I've gotten a lot better at catching the opponents in my mind jutsu so Shikamaru can trap them with his shadows. Then Chouji can grab them while their still with his expansion jutsu-enhanced hands..."

The two matchmakers listened boredly while Ino blathered on about 'this technique' and 'that move'. Or 'that jutsu' and 'this combo'.

Finally, Ino finished her lecture. "Was that good enough for you guys?"

"...What?" Hinata mumbled sleepily. "Oh, yes! Yes! Perfect."

"Great. I'll see you guys later. Gotta get back to the shop." she said, turning to go.

"Wait, Ino!" Sakura called out at the last second.

"Yeah?"

"You don't still like Sasuke, do you?"

"Is that what these weird questions are about?" she asked. "Psshh, I gave up on him a while ago. He's all yours, Forehead," she finished, winking. "See ya!"

After waving to their friend, they turned to eachother with defeated looks.

"Find anything?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke arrived at an open clearing in the forest. He had told his team to meet there the previous day, and he could see Yumiko and Hiraku already there. Not wanting his team to go through what he, Sakura, and Naruto went through with Kakashi-sensei always being late, he had shown up right on time, if not a little earlier.

"Good morning, Sasuke Sensei!" Yumiko called cheerfully.

Walking up to the two, he asked, "Hey. Where's Ryou?"

The silver-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Ugh! He's _always_ late! We're always waiting for him. He's _so_ annoying." Hiraku nodded in agreement to this.

"I'M HERE! I'M HE- AHH!"

The three turned their heads just in time to see Ryou trip on a large tree root. Flailing his arms as he tried to regain balance, he fell forward and face-planted.

Sasuke tried his hardest not to smirk as he watched the green-clad genin moan in pain on the ground.

"Ooowwwwaaaauugghhh." Picking himself off the ground, he muttered bitterly, "Yes, I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Not exactly graceful, are you?" Hiraku asked him, eyebrows raised, while Yumiko giggle in the background.

"Oh, shut up, you idiot."

"Okay, okay, alright, alright." Sasuke interrupted. "Today we're going to do a little exercise, almost a competition, to test your skills."

The three looked at him with interest.

"The object of this exercise is to scratch my forehead protector," he told them, indicating to his headband. He had gotten a new, unscratched one since the war had ended. "I want you all to come at me, full force."

"What? But what if we hurt you?" Yumiko asked worriedly.

"Yeah!" Ryou agreed. "And then you'll have to get a new headband!"

Even Hiraku looked skeptical.

_Tch. These kids are too cocky..._ Sasuke thought to himself.

"Do whatever you must to scratch it. The thing is, if you three _don't_ complete the task by five o' clock, I will choose the person who helped the ##least## to not eat..." he paused to rummage through his bag and pulled out two large, white boxes. "...these meal-packs I brought you."

"Ooh! Those are so good! My mom gets them at the market!" Yumiko said eagerly.

"What!? But I didn't have time to eat breakfast this morning!" Ryou whined.

Sasuke smirked. "Not so sure of yourself anymore, are you?"

Ryou straightened immediately. "What? No! Of course I can do it, no problem!"

"Mmm. Anyway, after you eat, we'll continue sparring, and you'll have one more chance to scratch me, so you'll need your energy."

The three nodded.

"Okay then. Then let's get started."

They fought for quite a while. Sasuke would disappear, they would find him, they'd spar, and then he'd hide again. But never once did they get even close to scratching his forehead protector.

As Ryou was just about to try to hit him, Sasuke disappeared from sight. He used his super quick speed to dart behind a bush, and then jumped silently into a tree to watch from afar.

"Darn! Where'd he go this time?" Yumiko exclaimed. "Hiraku?"

"Byaakugan!" the young Hyuuga yelled. Scanning the area, he finally spotted Sasuke in his hiding place. "There," he pointed.

Sasuke nodded at them and jumped down, leaning against the trunk. "Aa. Nice job."

"Alright, you go up and use tai jutsu to try to scratch him, and I'll shoot him from afar with my arro-"

Yumiko's plan was cut off by Ryou's sudden yell. "I GOT HIM!"

"Ryou, wait!" Yumiko yelled after the boy.

"Don't worry, Yumi, this'll be a piece a cake!"

"Ughh, baka!"

The two watched as their teammate hopelessly barreled towards Sasuke. Summoning a clone, the two Ryou's corned him and took out two kunai, ready to strike.

"I'VE GOT YOU NOW!" he screamed triumphantly. Diving forward, they swiped violently at Sasuke's face and...

_Poof!_ "GAACK!" _Thunk_.

Right as they were about to hit, the supposed 'Sasuke' disappeared into thin air, and Ryou was left to smash right into the tree.

Yumiko gasped as her teammate fell over, moaning with pain. "Shoot! It was a clone!" Running over to her fallen teammate, she kicked him in the leg and said angrily, "You idiot! If you had listened to the plan we were making, this never would have happened!"

"Heheh... You've got pretty birds flying around your head, Yumiko..."

"Really showing your grace today. I wonder what _Naruto_ would say if he saw you right now," Hiraku said with a smirk.

This woke him up instantly. "What!? Naruto's here? Where?!"

The two sighed and shook their heads.

Finally, the _real_ Sasuke came out. Looking out at the sky, he made a 'tsk' sound as he noted, "Aa, the sun's down, and you haven't scratched my headband."

The three genin looked at him with disappointment.

"...It was a lot... harder than I thought," Yumiko said as Ryou nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you should never be too confident," he nodded. "Now, for who doesn't get dinner... Ryou. Since you didn't work with your comrades out of your own cockiness and ended up getting yourself knocked out, you will _not_ be eating dinner with us."

"Awww! NOOOO!" he whined dramatically.

"I'll be right back, I have to go check on something. In the meantime, eat your food, you two," Sasuke said, walking away. Over his shoulder, he continued, "Oh, and if I see Ryou eating _any_ food, I'll tell Tsunade to keep you as genin forever."

Being the gullible genin that they were, they stared at him in shock, just as Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto had done with Kakashi.

After Sasuke was out of sight, he hid himself so that even Hiraku's byakkugan couldn't find him, and watched.

It took them a while, but eventually, after Hiraku checked the area with his Byaakugan, they reasoned together that they all needed their strength to continue sparring, and gave Ryou some of their food.

Sasuke smiled to himself.

_This team will be just fine._

**A/N**: A super long chapter! I expect twice as many reviews, hehehe! ;)


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, krivera2325, EnvyUchiha, DarkS1, Midnight-Runaway, Monooke-hime x sukai kurora, GAMEONGREENLASER, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, Hog3y09, The painted lady of the leaf, krivera2325, farhanalj, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews...**

** Espionage55 (formerly named Silverdawn97531): **Hehe, I plan to have one! ...Later. As for naming my chapters, I'm too laze. Doesn't 1, 2, 3, etc. suffice? Besides, they'd all probably be like "Sasuke", "Sasuke and Naruto", or "Sakura goes shopping" cause I'm just _that_ creative.

**Ayrmed: **Muah ha haa! Dragging out the NaruHina cliffhanger. I'M EVIL! :o)

**Ryujin65: **Favorite of all!? Wowza! Thanks! I PM'd you!

**TraptWolf94: **Haha, oh Sakura... Ooh! A _virtual _poptart! (If I get a moldy poptart in the mail somehow, I swear...) And yes, you _ARE_ amazeballs. Despite the creepy Kankuro stalking, heheh! **CONGRATS, YOU'RE MY _100th_ REVIEW! CLAPS FOR YOU!**

**Kljhorse: **InoChou is coming soon, yo!

**OTP-addict: **Yeah, ShikaTem are kinda hostile, but flirtatiously so! And you're right... Team "Sasuke" needs a better name...

**sierra,.,steinbrecher: **Oh my goodness, it was so great to log on to see EIGHT reviews from you! Thanks! Now for answering some of your stuff... (stars between new review replies). Yes, Naruto is saying the part about Sakura killing herself outloud. ***Heheh, Sakura, TenTen, and Ino are totally stalkers... ***Yeah, I see now that it was kinda awkward, but I just wanted them to get out, you know? Leave SasuSaku alone. Hahah, your idea probably would have been better.*** Ryou and Hinata should start an I LOVE NARUTO club. XD*** Apparently in a Naruto video game, it was said that Sasuke likes tomatoes, or so I'm told. Also, teme (bastard) and dobe (dead last) are just nicknames Sasuke and Naruto call each other all the time in the anime.*** I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!

OH MY HOLY AMAZEBALLS CRAP! I HAVE OVER 100 VIEWS NOW! YOU GUYS ROCK!

**Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 19**

"Ugh, where are they?" Ino asked impatiently. "You'd think Shikamaru and his genius brain would think of a way to get somewhere without being late."

Ino sat facing Chouji and TenTen. They had made last-minute plans to meet for dinner at a restaurant as a way of welcoming the sand shinobi.

"It's fine, I bet they're coming soon," TenTen reassured her. "Oh look! There they are!"

Shikamaru walked in the front door of the restaurant with Temari and Kankuro trailing behind him.

"Shikamaru! Over here!" Chouji called to him, waving him over to the corner table they sat at. Looking over, the Nara boy saw them and sauntered over.

"Hey," he said lazily.

"Hey!" Chouji greeted. "Temari and Kankuro! Haven't seen you guys in a while."

"Yeah, where've you been?" Ino added.

"Mmm, we've been so busy with recovering the village from the war, we haven't had time to visit," Kankuro answered apologetically.

"Oh, that's okay," TenTen replied. She looked around the room. "So where's Gaara?"

This time Temari answered. "He's in a meeting with the Hokage. They want to discuss more war reparation ideas."

"Oh, yeah! That's what you came here for, right?" Ino asked.

"Right," Kankuro said. "Though I did wanna try to do some finishing on one of my new puppets while I was here... I heard they have a really good weaponry shop nearby."

Brightening at this comment, TenTen replied excitedly, "Ooh! I think I know what place you're talking about! Rayuki's, right? Man, that place is _great_."

"Yeah... Yeah, I think so!" the puppet master said. Continuing, he asked, "Say, you think you could show me around there? How 'bout tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good!"

"Awesome, thanks!" Kankuro replied gratefully. Turning to Shikamaru, he said, "Guess that means you and Temari can finally go on that date."

The two both sputtered out protests.

"W-what!?"  
"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know," the puppeteer smirked. "Your date."

The two yelled at him simultaneously. "THERE. IS. NO. DATE."

The rest of the table watched amusedly. "Riiiigghht..." Kankuro said sarcastically.

Crossing her arms in a huff, Temari asked her brother gruffly, "Besides, what happened to you and Gaara 'beating any guy that touched me into a pulp'?"

Kankuro scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, I thought there would be no touchy-touching. Should I be worried?"

Temari rolled her eyes while Shikamaru banged his head on the table, muttering 'troublesome' with each hit.

"So..." Ino said, changing the subject. "You guys enjoying your visit so far?"

"Oh yeah, we always love it here!" Kankuro said brightly, acting as though nothing had happened.

This small talk continued for the duration of the meal, with the leaf ninja asking Temari and Kankuro how their village was going and what training they've been doing.

Finally, the six of them were down to the last piece of meat. Looking expectantly at Chouji, Shikamaru was extremely surprised to see him without the usual eager and starved look on his face. Instead, he wore a nervous and pained expression.

_God, this is so hard. That piece of steak looks so tender... and juicy... No! It's for Ino! _"Um... Ino! You, uhh, want the last piece?" Chouji asked nervously.

The whole table looked at him in shock.

Ino stared at him incredulously. "Chouji, are you okay?" She then leaned over to feel his forehead, the close contact making the boy's face heat up. "Your face is feeling kind of warm... And you're really red!"

" No, no! I just, uh, want you to have it!" _This is not going the way it was supposed to..._

"Alright, let's go," Shikamaru said, standing up to leave.

"What? Where we going?"

"The Konoha hospital. You're obviously sick," he replied seriously.

"What!? No! I'm fine, really!" the Akimichi boy protested.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on," he said, dragging his best friend out the door. The rest followed worriedly.

"You think he's okay?" Temari whispered to Ino.

"I have no idea. We've never seen this happen before."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"You want _what?_" Tsunade asked Gaara, surprise written all over her face.

"Just a few Konoha genin to come visit The Sand." Gaara replied emotionlessly.

"And why do you want that?"

"I believe having the young ninja associate with eachother will strengthen the connection between our two lands, and will ensure good future relations."

"I see... That's not a bad idea."

"If it is no bother, I would ask that you also send some medical ninja as well," he said politely. "As you might recall, our best medic, Granny Chiyo, passed away not too long ago, giving up her life for mine. We lack the necessary amount of medics to heal those still injured from the war."

"Ah, Chiyo... Of course, that would be no problem," Tsunade agreed. "In fact, I think I already have a couple great candidates," she told him, smiling.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Ah, _that_ was amusing," Sakura said good-naturedly. "Pretty nostalgic too."

Sasuke smirked, remembering how he had just scared the living daylights out of his team.

_Come on, I already scanned the area. He's gone. He'll never know," Hiraku told a worried Ryou and Yumiko._

_"But staying genin forev-" his words interruoted byna large stomach growl. "Alright, you know what? Just gimme that rice," he said, snatching the box greedily._

_The three ate in silence for a minute, savoring the delicious food._

_Satisfied, Yumiko started, "Ahhh, this stuff is so go-"_

_"WHAT THE __HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Sasuke yelled at them, stomping back._

_Ryou yelped, throwing his food in the air, and Yumiko burst into tears._

_"We're s-sorrrry!" the two cried, pleading to him._  
_"Don't make us genin forever!"_  
_"It'll never happen again!"_  
_"We're sorry, sorry, sorrryyy!"_

_"What did I tell you two?" Sasuke demanded them stonily._

_Ryou ducked his head ashamedly. "We know! We're sor-"_

_Hiraku interrupted Ryou and Yumiko's apoligies and looked stonily at his sensei. "We were being a ##team.## Had Ryou not had any food, he would have had no strength to continue sparring, being a liability."_

_"Hiraku! What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Ryou asked urgently._

_"No. Either way, we fail. It wasn't a fair challenge."_

_Sasuke looked at them angrily. "Well, you know what this means. You all..."_

_The three flinched at his intimidating stare._

_"Pass."_

"Aa. That _was_ funny," Sasuke said, agreeing with Sakura.

"FUNNY!? You made me pee my pants!" Ryou yelled at him incredulously.

"Ewww! You did?" Yumiko asked, a grossed out expression on her face.

"Uhh... No?"

Hiraku and Yumiko both shook their heads at him.

Sasuke looked at Sakura. "You guys were so quiet, I forgot you were there."

"Yeah, we were in the trees the whole time."

"Mm. Where's Naruto?"

"He's... Still upset."

"Over Hinata?" Sasuke asked, surprised. He hadn't known the idiot had felt that strongly about the Hyuuga girl.

Worried, Sakura said, "Yeah... I feel so bad!"

"Don't meddle. It's none of our business."

She winced slightly, remembering her slight intrusion when she told Hinata to go check on Naruto. "I know, I know."

"Naruto will bounce ba-"

"Sakura-san!" a voice called, interrupting Sasuke. The two turned to see a medic at the hospital running towards them.

"Oh! Muyaki! What's up?"

"You've been summoned to the hospital. Your friends need assistance, and they asked specifically for you."

"What?" Sakura asked her panickedly. "Who's hurt?"

"I don't know... He was big, a little fat."

"Chouji? I'll be right there. Thank you."

Nodding, the medic took off.

"Alright I gotta go. I'll see you guys later!" she said to the three genin. Beginning to walk away, she looked back at Sasuke expectantly. "Coming?"

Surprised, Sasuke said to her, "Me?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes, _you_. They're your friends too, you know."

"Aa... Okay." Sasuke said, walking behind her uncertainly.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sakura hurried into the hospital room Chouji was in, followed by Sasuke.

"Alright, I'm here. What's wrong?"

Ino walked up to her and took her by the shoulders. "Well, we were eating out at a barbecue place, and we came down to the last piece of meat."

Sakura nodded, not really following.

"Instead of taking it, Chouji offered it.

_To __me._"

It took all Sakura had to maintain a serious face. "I see," she said seriously. "Okay, everyone leave the room while I check him out."

As everybody filed out the door, Sakura walked over to Chouji's bed.

Sighing, Chouji started, "Sakura, really, I'm fi-"

"I know," she interrupted him, finally letting her smile come out. "Hinata told me."

"Ahh," he said, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, I think it's so sweet!" Sakura squealed, clapping her hands together.

"Sakura... please..." Chouji said, embarrassed.

"Ah, sorry. You're right." Winking at him, she continued, "I'll be right back. Sit tight."

Walking out the door, Sakura saw the six sitting on the waiting bench.

"Okay, it looks like he's going to be fine. He just needs mire water and bedrest. Ino, why don't you go keep Chouji company? I have to talk to Shikamaru."

"Oh, um... Okay?" Ino said, slightly suspicious. When she closed the door behind her, Sakura turned excitedly to the rest.

"What's up?" Shikamaru asked her.

"Alright, you guys are never gonna believe this..."

After telling them how Chouji liked Ino, they all stared at her in shock.

"Awww! So cute!" TenTen said happily.

"Whoa... How did I not pick up on this?" Shikamaru said, still taken aback.

"Probably cause you're too lazy," Temari replied simply, earning her a scowl from the Nara boy.

"I wonder what's happening in there right now..." Kankuro wondered aloud.

Ino sat at the edge of Chouji's bed. Picking up a gossip magazine on the nightstand, she leafed through it. "Sakura says you'll be fine. You were just dehydrated. You need more water and rest."

"Oh, okay. Um, that's good..."

"Look at this!" she said to him, shoving the magazine in his face. The title read, 'How to Tell if he Likes You'. "Psshh. This isridiculous. I don't even know why I'm looking at this. I am, like, the frickin' _master_ at love."

"Uh, I don't think you know _everything_ about love." Chouji mentally slapped himself. _Why did I say that!?_

Ino looked at him indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean? I'll have you know Sakura, TenTen, and I basically got Naruto and Hinata together. And then there was that time..." Ino blabbered on about her expertise in the field of love.

Deciding to take a chance, Chouji looked at Ino nervously, his heart beating out of his chest. Reaching over, he took her hand in his.

Stopping her lecture immediately, Ino looked at their hands, her mouth forming into an 'Oh'.

Chouji's heart dropped. She didn't like him. Looking away, he began to pull his hand away, saying hurriedly, "Ah, uh, I'm, uh, sorry..." He looked back at her dejectedly. To his surprise...

She was smiling.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Hinata stood at Naruto's door. She had taken up Sakura's advice to go check on him.

_I must have done something wrong..._

she thought to herself dejectedly.

Shaking in her shoes, she knocked on the door and stepped back.

Naruto was sitting on his bed, eating ramen in a depressed manor, when he heard someone knocking on his door. Sighing, he got up and trudged to the front entrance. Opening the door, he said grumpily, "Who is it? Oh, Hinata. Hey."

"H-hey, Naruto! Can I, um, come in?"

"Uh, yeah sure," he said, opening the door wider for her.

As she stepped in his house, she asked him, "So, are y-you okay? I haven't s-seen you very much lately... You stopped coming to Ichiraku."

They sat down at the kitchen table. "Nah, I'm fine. I just didn't think it would be _appropriate_. How about you?" he said back to her.

"Oh, I am, um, great?" _What did he mean by that? Naruto is acting strangely..._

"Mm. How's _Chouji?"_

She looked at him with a confused expression. Then, she remembered. _Oh, Sakura must have told him about Chouji liking Ino!_

"He's good," she replied, smiling. "He's a l-little shy about it, but I still think it's adorable!"

"Mmhmm," he replied, sounding annoyed.

"N-naruto? Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm just _fine_, Hinata. You know, I thought you would even just a little bit why I'm upset by this," he said bitterly.

"Upset by what?" _Does Naruto like Ino?_ she thought sadly to herself. _Or even... Chouji?_

Standing up, he grabbed at his hair frustratedly and walked around the kitchen.

Hinata stood up and followed him. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she said timidly, "Naruto...?"

"I'M UPSET ABOUT YOU AND CHOUJI!" he spat angrily.

He abruptly turned around, taking her face in his hands. He leaned down...

And he kissed her

Pulling away, Naruto covered his face with his hands, he groaned. "Gaaahhh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's just, I saw you and him... And I just got jealous... Cause I always thought," he paused, taking a deep breath, "that you liked _me_."

Hinata stared at him, still trying to register what had just happened. All she could think was _Naruto just kissed me. Naruto just kissed me. It's a miracle I didn't faint!_

Finally able to talk, she stuttered, "N-naruto... What are y-you talking ab-bout?"

"You know what I'm talking about,"

"N-no... I d-don't. Me and Chouji?" she asked him confusedly.

"Yeah, you and Chouji" he said, depressed. "I saw you two on a date at that barbecue place. And I saw him hug you."

"Naruto!" she said, coveringnher eyes with her hand. "T-that wasn't a date! Chouji likes _Ino_." That's what we were t-talking about. How to get Ino to notice Chouji!"

Naruto stared at her with a blank expression. "Whaaaa?"

Hinata chuckled nervously. "You thought that was a date?"

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Uhh... Yeah?"

She shook her head, smiling at him.

Immediately changing his mood, he smiled back brightly. "So, you wanna go on a date with me then?"

Hinata couldn't believe her ears. _Naruto wants to go on a date with_ me?

"Y-yes, of c-course!" she said, slightly taken aback at his sudden mood swing.

His cerulean eyes twinkled as he picked her up and twirled her around the room. Laughing, he set her down. "Alright, so how about three o' clock tomorrow at Ichiraku? A real date this time."

"Um... Y-yeah! Sure!"  
_Naruto asked me out on a date and I didn't faint! I can't believe it, I didn't..._ her thoughts stopped as she leaned precariously, almost collapsing on the ground before Naruto caught her.

"Ack! Hinata! Not again..."

** A/N**: Tell me if you like it! Sorry that it takes me longer to update now, I'm just so busy with school and sports and stuff. I've been making the chapters longer though!

Grahhh! InoChou and NaruHina!

I had some trouble writing this, so tell me if there's anything I need to fix.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Silverdawn97531, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, krivera2325, EnvyUchiha, DarkS1, Midnight-Runaway, Monooke-hime x sukai kurora, GAMEONGREENLASER, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, Hog3y09, AnimeLover431, chelsea,.,p,.,evans, speedyninja, maoriboiz12, xXxgossipgirlxXx, xXxangelkunoichixXx, Faroffinho, Gaara777, LittleMissKD, willy008, The painted lady of the leaf, krivera2325, chris bates, A. 159, A1NoSauce, KoolBrunette06, Lessil, sasusaku70123, farhanalj, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews...**

**Kljhorse: **Yup! Sakura and Sasuke's team all be going to the sand, yo.

**Guest: **Haha, yeah I guess that is kinda unlikely, but hey, gotta move the story along.

**OTP-addict: **I wasn't really a fan of InoChou either, but Ryujin recommended it, and I guess now I am! Hahah

**Ryujin65: **Haha thanks. KITTY!

**GrayPen: **I plan to write more SasuSaku in the upcoming chapters! I find them the hardest to write, because how do you write Sasuke without making him totally out of character? In character Sasuke would just be 'Aa' 'Mm' and 'Tch' the whole time...

**TraptWolf94: **Thanks! Amazeballs must be shown to the world. Whew! No moldy poptarts yet...

**Ayrmed: **SWEET VICTORY!

**annashina: **Ehh, normally I try to put whatever you guys want in the story, but GaaSaku? I don't know abou tthat. Heheh, sorry! It's SasuSaku here!

**The painted lady of the leaf: **Thank you! And yup, there will be slight TenTen and Kankuro

**A1NoSauce: **I try to update as fast as possible, but I get pretty busy. I will most likely always update sometime during the weekend

**A. 159: **Thank you so much! I swear, if Naruto doesn't kiss Hinata at the end of the anime/manga, I will cry.

_**ENJOY!**_

**CHAPTER 20 **(Wow, where did the time go?)

TenTen walked Kankuro down the aisles of the weaponry shop, indicating the different kinds and types as they walked.

"...Okay, so over here you've got your katanas, your swords..." She went further down the row, gesturing to the shelves as she went by them. "Bows... arrows... needles... _poison _needles... Your run-of-the-mill shuriken and kunai..." Picking up a sickle and chain, she swung it around as she said to the puppet master, "This is a _kusarigama. _Great for-" she paused, swinging it so it almost took his head off, "-Smacking your opponents!"

"Whoa there," he said, backing up a few paces. When he was in a safe zone, he said to her with respect, "You sure know your stuff!"

TenTen laughed embarrassedly. "Heheh, sorry, am I boring you? Most people don't really want to hear about all this stuff..."

"No way, I think it's interesting!" he replied, smiling at her.

TenTen smiled back, a blush glowing on her face. "So, what are you thinking for this puppet of yours?"

"I was thinking kunai would shoot out of it's back... And a retractable katana for each arm." He stopped for a moment, thinking to himself. "You know, now I'm thinking I want one of those _kusarigama_ things."

TenTen laughed again. "Alrighty then, let's get on it!"

Kankuro shook his head, following the weapons master. "You are one cool chick, TenTen."

Glad she was walking in front of him so he couldn't see her bright red face, she called back over her shoulder, "Haha, thanks, you're not too bad yourself."

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,..

Hinata didn't know how she had gotten in this position.

She really _did_ like Sakura as a friend, but when it came to things like relationships, she was a little... over-dramatic, to say the least. Hinata had been successfully avoiding her all morning, up until the green-eyed kunoichi had managed to corner her on the way back from the training grounds.

"Hey, Hinata!" Sakura said, as bubbly as ever.

Trying to sound as normal as possible, Hinata replied with a small smile, "Oh, hello, Sakura-chan!"

"So... You, uh, talk to Naruto yet?" Sakura said fake-casually, arms clasped behind her back as she rocked on her heels.

Being as nice as she was, Hinata couldn't just completely lie to her about her meeting with Naruto. Of course, even if she _tried_ to lie, Sakura would see it from a mile away.

Hinata panicked inwardly. _What do I do? What do I do? Oh no, she's going to make such a big deal out of everything... And I'm already nervous enough as it it!_

"W-well, actuall-"

"Oi, Sakura."

Hinata had never been more relieved to see the frightening face of Sasuke Uchiha.

"Oh! Sasuke! What's up?" Sakura asked him, surprised by the fact that _he_ had actually sought _her_ out this time.

"I need your help," he said plainly.

_More surprises, _Sakura thought to herself. "What for?"

"You know Yumiko,"

"Yes... Yes I do," she told him with a confused face.

"You have good chakra control."

Though slightly flattered, Sakura rolled her eyes. "And... What about it? Spit it out, Sasuke!"

"I want you to help teach her chakra control, so she can start learning how to infuse her arrows with chakra."

"Well, why didn't you just say so in the first place?" she said, smiling widely. "Sure, I'd love to!"

"Mm," he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. He started at her expectantly.

"Wait, you meant right now?" she asked.

Nodding, he answered, "That a problem?"

"Oh, no! Not at all! I just...Didn't know you meant _right_ now." she looked over at Hinata. She guiltily admitted to herself that in the presence of her teammate, she had almost forgotten that the quiet girl was even there. "Hm, Hinata, I guess we'll talk later. See ya!"

"Bye!" she said, waving to the two. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Hinata turned to head back to the Hyuuga mansion, shaking in her shoes as she thought about her plans for later in the day.

.,.,.,.,.,.,..,.,.,.,.,.

"Okay, so focusing on your center, slowly bring out your chakra, and try to shape it into your hands."

"Alright, I'll try. Here I go..."

Sakura sat on the ground next to a determined Yumiko, watching the young girl try to attempt chakra control. They had practiced using chakra to walk vertically up a tree for a good hour, and she had been quick to catch on. Sakura wasted no time in taking her to the next step, and she watched, quite impressed with the girl's fast progress. Yumiko furrowed her brow in concentration and managed to bring out a small amount of chakra that clouded around her hands and arms. Lasting only for a couple seconds, the blue cloud dispersed, leaving her winded and panting.

"Hah...Hah...How was that?"

Sakura nodded with approval and gave her a smile. "Great! You're catching on pretty fast. If you keep this up, you might even be able to become a pretty good medical ninja!"

The silver-haired girl brightened at this compliment. "Really?"

"Definitely. Now keep practicing that until you can keep the chakra focused in your hands for a good amount of time, and then we can start trying to infuse your arrows with it."

Nodding earnestly, Yumiko said happily, "Yes, Saukura-niichan!"

Sakura stood up, dusting off her legs. "Great! Keep working, I'll be right back." She walked over to Sasuke, who stood watching Ryou and Hiraku spar in a surprisingly even match, though Hiraku did seem to have the slight upper hand.

"Hey"

Sasuke nodded at her, not taking his eyes off the match. "Hey."

"Yumiko's progressing pretty fast. She's a smart one! I've almost got her focusing her chakra only in her hands." Sakura said conversationally.

"Aa, I thought so. She seemed like she had a lot of potential."

Nodding in agreement, Sakura added, "They all do."

"Mm. You noticed it right?"

The rosette looked at him in confusion. "Noticed what?"

"You know, _them._ Notice anything... Familiar about them?" he replied, gesturing at the three young genin.

Finally understanding what he meant, she let out a large laugh. "Ohh! You mean how they seem exactly like us? Ah, Tsunade_ did_ hand pick them. I think it's funny!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I did notice a couple differences though."

"Like what?" Sakura asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Well, for one thing..." he started, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Ryou definitely isn't as stupid as Naruto used to be. And Yumiko is calmer than you were. More sane."

Giving him a good whack in the head, Sakura growled at him, "What are you talking about? I'm _totally_ sane!"

"Right... Of course," he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"And what about you, _Mr. Perfect?_" she asked him, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Sasuke rubbed his head, seeming to actually consider the question. "Hm... Hiraku's not as cool as I was."

Eyes almost popping out of her head, Sakura thought to herself, _Whoa. Did Sasuke just tell a _joke? _What is going on today..._ Recovering from her initial shock, she laughed cheerfully and said sarcastically, "Oh, of course. How could I forget?"

"Mm."

A couple minutes of silence passed before Sasuke spoke up again. "Oh, and another thing..."

"Hm?"

"Ryou doesn't have the same obsessive crush on Yumiko that Naruto had on you."

Sakura laughed again, albeit a little sadly. "Haha, oh yeah..."

Sasuke looked at her with suspicion. "You sound sad. What, you like Naruto now?" he asked rather blatantly, finally looking at her face.

"Oh! No, no, no. I just got a little sad thinking about how much Naruto has grown up. He used to be so... Dumb. And now look at him! An almost guaranteed candidate for the _Hokage position_." She looked over at him again. "And I think we both now I never liked Naruto back," she laughed.

Sasuke winced inwardly with guilt at the comment. Though he knew she had said it jokingly, he knew he had caused Sakura a lot of pain leaving, and she had left a rather uncomfortable comment in the air. "Mm." he said shortly, trying to fill in the awkward silence.

Sakura sensed his discomfort, and immediately opened her mouth to say something. "Oh, b-"

"Sakura-san!" a voice called behind them.

Hiraku and Ryou temporarily paused their match to see what was going on, and Yumiko broke her concentration, glancing up. They all turned to see Muyaki, the same medic Hinata and Sakura had seen yesterday running at them. Sighing heavily, Sakura muttered to herself, "What is it this time?"She loved her work, she really did. But it was a little annoying to have them constantly calling her back in on her time off.

"Yes, Muyaki? What is it?"

"Ah, Sakura-san! The Hokage wants you and Uchiha-san to report to her office immediately." She looked at Sasuke. "She also said to bring your team."

"Her office?" Sakura looked up at her teammate with a look of confusion. "Wonder what for... A mission?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't think so. It's too soon for that, isn't it?" There hadn't been very many missions since the war had ended anyway. Most villages, including the Hidden Leaf, were still too busy reconstructing to submit jobs or missions that needed to be done.

"Thank you, Muyaki. You can go now."

Bowing quickly, the medic rushed away on the path.

"Alright, guys," Sasuke said, calling his team back in.

"The _Hokage _wants us? What for? What for?" Ryou asked excitedly. Yumiko and even Hiraku glowed with anticipation.

"I don't know. Let's just get going."

The five of them leaped into the trees to jump back to the Hokage tower, Ryou filling the air with his excited chatter the whole way.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

Hinata sat nervously on a stool in Ichiraku, waiting for Naruto to appear. Despite meeting the boy so many times before at the very same restaurant, she felt so nervous she was almost shaking. She glanced up at wall and saw that the clock read 3:11. Knowing Naruto, it was normal for him to be a little (if not a lot) late, but she couldn't help worrying. _Maybe he decided he didn't want to come. Maybe he doesn't like me. Maybe he- _Her panicked thoughts were interrupted by a sudden 'woosh' next to her.

"Hey, Hinata! What's up?" a familiarly loud voice said in her ear.

Being almost startled out of her shoes, Hinata turned to see Naruto's face right in front of hers. Instead of being dressed in his usual orange and black jumpsuit, he wore a simple orange t-shirt with the Uzumaki clan symbol on the back and black pants. She had dressed in a slightly similar outfit, her shirt being a light purple with the Hyuuga symbol. Her face flamed a bright red as he gave her hand a squeeze.

"Heheh," he chuckled nervously, "Sorry I'm late, I got caught up in gett-"

"I-it's okay! You w-weren't really late at all!" Hinata stuttered, still slightly overwhelmed by his presence.

"Ah, well... I uh, got you some flowers!" he said, thrusting a bouquet in her face. "Ino helped pick them out for me."

Hinata gave him a big smile. "Th-thank you!"

"Glad you like 'em," he said, flopping down in the stool next to her. "Yo, pops!"

Teuchi appeared from around the counter and greeted them with his usual squinty smile. "Naruto! Hinata! My two favorite customers!" he laughed.

Naruto smiled back. "The usuals!"

"You got it." Before he turned to start cooking, he noticed the large arrangement of flowers on the table. "Well, well, well! Naruto, you finally asked Hinata out."

Hinata let out a nervous chuckle, once again blushing beet red. Even Naruto reddened slightly, but he put his arm around Hinata's shoulders happily once he got over his embarrassment. "Yup! First date," he laughed.

"Mmhmm. Tell you what. For this _special _occasion, today's ramen is on the house!" the old man said to them.

"Awesome!"

"Thank you very much!"

"No problem, kids." He then turned to start making the noodles, leaving the two to talk.

"So, um, N-naruto... How is your training going?" Hinata asked tentatively.

"Pretty good. I was sparring with Kiba and Shino, so I had to skip out on guard duty for Sasuke, but I had a chuunin sit in for me. How 'bout you?"

"Oh, I didn't do any training today. I was doing errands in the village." she replied as the bowls of Ramen were placed in front of them. They said thank you again, clapped their hands together with an 'Itidakimasu', and dug in.

Nodding, Naruto continued, "Well you should come and train with me tomorrow. We can do guard duty with Sakura, and you can meet Sasuke's genin team! Ryou's the best, by the way."

Hinata looked at him with an amused smile. Sakura had told her about Naruto's little number-one fan.

"You know, you two have a lot in common," Naruto told her. "You and Ryou, I mean."

A surprised expression on her face, she replied, "W-we do?"

"Uh, _yeah_," he said, as though it should be obvious.

"What?" she asked, still confused.

Lacing his hands behind his hands in a cocky manor, he gave her a wide smile and said, "You both _love_ me."

It took a few moments for Hinata to process his words before she let out a very I uncharacteristic laugh.

"What?" Naruto protested. "It's _true_!" he said to a still-laughing Hinata.

Hinata was still giggling when the medic from yesterday came jogging towards them, calling their names.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Hinata Hyuuga!"

"Yeah?" Naruto replied curiously.

"The Hokage has summoned you to her office. The two of you are to go over there immediately."

"Granny wants us, eh? Well, bad timing, but I guess we gotta go..."

Hinata nodded. "We can, um, do this again sometime though?"

He grinned at her. "Yeah! Yeah, definitely!"

"Then l-let's go!"

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Naruto and Hinata hurried up the stairs to the Hokage tower. The medic _had_ said 'report immediately', and they didn't want to be late.

Naruto hurriedly knocked on the door, and to their surprise, it was opened by Sakura, with Sasuke and his genin team behind her. Ryou straightened as he saw his yellow-haired hero.

Smirking, the cool Uchiha boy said to him, "You're late, dobe."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, idiot."

Sakura looked at Hinata and Naruto with wide eyes. "Hey... You two aren't in your training clothes! And you came here... Together..." Her hands flew to her mouth as she squealed in delight. "OH MY GOODNESS, DID YOU AND NARUTO GO ON A DATE? EEeek!"

"Remember what I said about you being insane?" Sasuke muttered.

Ignoring the comment, Sakura went on to pester the shy Hyuuga.

Hinata inwardly sighed as she was barraged by a million questions from her pink-haired friend. "What was it like? Did you guys have fun? What did you wear? Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Alright, alright," came a voice from the inside of the room. "Hinata and Naruto, come in so we can get started.

Walking in, they saw Tsunade shuffling papers at her desk. "Ah, Hinata. I don't think you've met Sasuke's genin team. This is Yumiko, Hiraku, and Ryou," she said, indicating to each one as she spoke.

They chorused 'hello's' and 'hi's' back to her.

"Hello," she replied kindly, giving them a smile. She already knew Hiraku from seeing him in the clan, but she had never before seen the other two.

"Okay, now for business," Tsunade said, putting down her papers. "I have a large mission for all of you. More will be coming, but they have already been informed of the job, and you don't know most of them anyway."

"What is it?" Naruto and Ryou asked impatiently at the same time.

"I'm getting there, boys," the Hokage said, glaring at them with annoyance. "Anyway, Gaara has informed me that Suna needs medical ninja to help rehabilitate some of their wounded," she said, looking at Hinata and Sakura. Glancing at Sasuke and his team, she continued, "Gaara also suggested that we send some genin over to the village, to help create good present and future relations between the villages. So you all must be on your best behavior," she finished.

The six that had been assigned jobs nodded in understanding. "Whoa. Our first real mission. And it's _huge_!" Yumiko said as Ryou and Hiraku nodded.

Naruto raised his hand with a confused look. "Wait a minute... What about me? I mean, I'm not a medic, and last I checked, I didn't lead a team.""

"Oh yes, Naruto. I understand that when using the Nine Tails Chakra Mode, the nature energy causes trees to sprout from the ground where you hit it?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda."

"In some areas in Suna and the area around it, a lot of forestation was destroyed. Gaara asked that you hel them regrow. He also said it would just be nice to see you." she added.

"Sweet!" Naruto yelled, fist-pumping the air. "It's been a while since I've seen Gaara!"

Tsunade laughed at the boy's excitement. "More details will be given tomorrow. You leave in three days, and this will be a partially long-term mission. You're free to go."

The seven ninja simultaneously said thank you and left the room.

**A/N**: Sorry the update took so long! Been busy. Like? Review! :)

Didnt you guys think the Tailed Beast song in the latest episode was hilarious?


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Espionage55, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, funnyfortunecookie, DarkKunoichi15, dngfsh, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, jamesdeathblade, Neeky-chan, TeruSkylar, carmen812, gamer god, nathanielsims3, xSwampmonster, Lilythewolf23, Kyroyukihime, Someday136, Z Girl Warrior, xFlipJamsx, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, krivera2325, EnvyUchiha, DarkS1, Midnight-Runaway, Monooke-hime x sukai kurora, GAMEONGREENLASER, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, Hog3y09, AnimeLover431, chelsea,.,p,.,evans, speedyninja, maoriboiz12, xXxgossipgirlxXx, xXxangelkunoichixXx, Faroffinho, Gaara777, LittleMissKD, willy008, The painted lady of the leaf, krivera2325, chris bates, A. 159, A1NoSauce, KoolBrunette06, Lessil, sasusaku70123, farhanalj, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**Replies to some reviews...**

**Nathanielsims3 + Neeky-chan + death the kid 722 + xFlipJamsx: **Thank you! :)

**sierra,.,steinbrecher: **Thanks! But what didn't you get?

**Ryujin65**: Dang it, I forgot about KanTen for a little bit there! I suppose he could stay... Or maybe I'll just make a nice goodbye and stop it temporarily.

**TraptWolf94**: NO MORE POPTARTS?! NOOO! P.S. Your mind has a beautiful singing voice.

A,.,S,.,SamaWalk159: Nice ideas! Thanks. Would I stop watching Naruto if it turned out to be NaruSaku... I'd probably still watch it, but I would be THOROUGHLY UPSET!

Other notes... Yes, I did draw the story picture. You can sure see my "amazing" drawing skills, am I right?

**_POLL ALERT-_ **Yes, I have just recently discovered polls. So if you wanna, take a looksie in my profile and vote! :)

Somebody brought up the idea of me making more genin teams to go to Suna. Now, instead of making up my own, I was thinking you guys could help come up with OCs! Like... Transform yoursel into a mini genin if you want or just make one up. :) I'll try to put as many as possible, depending on how many I get. Just give me the name, appearance, outfit, personality, etc! Thanks a bunch.

ENJOY!

**Chapter 21**

Ryou ran out of the Hokage's office, immediately fist-pumping the air. With a triumphant yell, he screamed, "YES! MISSION NUMBER ONE!"

Yumiko squealed next to him, clapping her hands together. "Oh my goodness, this is so exciting! Isn't it, Hiraku?"

The young Hyuuga boy merely nodded, but you could still see the glint of anticipation in his eyes. Turning to Sasuke, he asked seriously, "So we have three days. What do we do until then? Pack?"

"I suppose we could squeeze in a little more training, but yes, the majority would be for prepar-"

"RYOU, MY BABY!" came a yell from around the hallway, effectively cutting off Sasuke's sentence.

A large woman with curly brown hair and deep green eyes came rushing up to the hound boy, crushing him into a hug.

"Mom! I can't breathe!" came a muffled voice from her bosom.

Close to tears, the woman said worriedly to Ryou, "Oh, honey! I heard about your mission! You just can't go! You can't! You're not ready! You're too young! I'll go talk to the Hokage. One minute!"

"Ughh, Mom! Come on!" the boy groaned.

Sasuke resisted the urge to put his face in his hands. What did this lady think we were training for constantly?

"Excuse me ma'am," he said, trying to stop her. "I am sure your son is capab-"

Whipping around, the fat woman glared at him and said vehemently, "_You_. Don't get me started on you. It's bad enough my son was assigned to this ridiculous mission, but the fact that he has a _criminal_ as his sensei? What is the Hokage thinking?!"

"Ahem," came a voice from behind the two.

All of them turned around to see an angry-looking Tsunade, arms crossed, behind them.

"What is going on here? And what am I thinking about what?" she said, staring down the rotund mother.

"O-oh! Hokage-sama!" Mrs. Yoshida stuttered. "I was just...saying that you..."

"Forget about that. Tell me the problem."

"Well you see... this mission is way to dangerous for my little Ryou! The Sand? That's way too far!" Pointing an an angry finger at Sasuke, she continued, "And _him_. Couldn't you find a more suitable sensei? One that's _not_ a criminal?"

"You must be kidding me," Tsunade said, an annoyed expression on her face. "You are much too over-protective of your son. If I didn't think this team was capable of this mission, I would never has assigned it." The three genin straightened at this compliment. "Are you saying you doubt Ryou's abilities?"

"N-no of course n-"

"Your son is a very capable ninja with a lot of skill. He also has a lot of potential. Potential that will be wasted if you don't let go a little and let him live his life."

"Yes, I kn-"

"And as for Sasuke Uchiha, a _former_ criminal, he is one of the best ninja this village has ever had. You should consider yourself lucky that your son gets the chance to be trained under him. Also, are you informed that Sasuke helped us win the war? Did you know without his help, you and I might not even be here? Might not be alive? So if I here you bashing him anymore, you will wish you were born without a mouth. Sasuke is a very skilled ninja that can be trusted. Remember that." After a moment of silence, Tsunade stared at her, eyebrows raised, and asked, "Any questions?"

"No, Hokage-sama." Turning to Sasuke, she hung her head ashamedly and said, "I am sorry, Uchiha-san. I just... worry for my son. It was wrong of me to insult you."

Sasuke nodded, still surprised at the way Tsundae had stook up for him. "It's alright. I promise nothing will happen to these three if I can help it."

Smiling graciously, Mrs. Yoshida muttered a 'thank you', bowed politely, and hurried out.

After watching her walk away, Ryou chuckled embarrassedly. "Heheh... Moms... What can ya do?"

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

It was the next night that Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata had met with some of their friends at a dumpling restaurant for a sort of 'goodbye party'. All of the Rookie Nine, Team Guy, and the sand shinobi had come.

"I can't believe you guys are leaving on such a _long_ mission!" Ino whined. "I would ask to come with and help the medics, but I've gotta work the flower shop, plus do my job at the pharmacy..."

Chouji came up behind her and put an arm around her waist. "Mm, well I'm glad you're not going!" he said cheerily.

"Whoa, you guys are a thing now?" Kiba asked, clearly surprised. "I did _not_ see that coming."

Ino laughed and blushed lightly. "I guess it was a surprise for me too!"

Shino joined in. "Yes. I did not know this information either. Of course, I am always l_eft out_..._ Forgotten_... The_ last _one to know_._.." he said, proceeding to pout.

The rest of the group chuckled nervously at the Aburame boy. Used to his weird behavior, Kiba continued, "Aww, cheer up, Shino! You can be apart of the cool 'bachelor group'! You, me, Lee, Naruto, and Sasuke!"

"YES, INDEED!" Lee shouted exuberantly. "I shall make the T-shirts!"

"No way, man," Naruto said, getting up out of his seat. Walking over to Hinata, he smacked a big kiss on her cheek and said, flinging his arms up in an over-the-top-manor, "HINATA AND NARUTO FOREVER!" Hinata blushed a deep red and laughed embarrassedly while the other girls cooed and 'aw'd' at the scene.

"You guys too!?" Kiba yelled. "Well, I guess it was 'bout time..."

Sasuke also shook his head. "Mm. There is no way I'm joining your club."

Laughing, Sakura poked him and said in a sing-song voice, "Well, too bad! That's the price you pay for being a _loner_!"

"Hey, now. We of the bachelor club find the term 'loner' to be very offensive," Kiba said, putting a hand to his chest fake-seriously.

As the group roared with laughter, Hinata smirked at Kiba and said teasingly, "What about Karui? I thought you two were getting pretty close." She laughed maniacally inside herself, glad she was finally able to get back at him after years of him teasing her for liking Naruto.

"W-whaat!? I don't know what you're talking about!" he sputtered.

"Mmhmm. Of course you don't," Kankuro told him. "Hey, how come I wasn't invited to the club? I mean, I get Shikamaru and all, but what about me? I wanna be a cool bachelor!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Shikamaru interrupted, finally getting out of his lazy state. "What do you mean, 'you get Shikamaru'?"

Kiba looked at him. "Uh, you and Temari!" he said, as if it should be obvious.

"WHAT!?" the two said in unison.

"I told you I _DON'T _LIKE HIM!"

"We're _not_ dating!"

"Whatever you say..." Kankuro said, still smiling evilly. "So am I in the club or not?"

"You and TenTen aren't a thing?"

At this, TenTen choked on her water and blushed fiercly, while Kankuro held his fork up to his face, frozen in mid-bite. "Uhhh... No?" he said.

"Awkward!" Naruto sang.

The whole group erupted into a large argument over who was dating whom, which lasted several minutes and involved some very red faces.

"Hello!" came a voice from the door, causing the whole group to stop.

A silver haired man wearing a mask over his face walked through the door, followed by a strong looking woman. "Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled happily, he and Sakura running over to give him a hug. Sasuke walked over and raised a hand in greeting. "Late as ever, eh Kakashi?"

Kakashi chucked good-naturedly. "Ah, well you see, I just got back from a mission yesterday, and as I was unpacking, an old lady fell down on the str-"

"Oh, cut the excuses, sensei!" Sakura said, swatting him on the shoulder.

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his hands in defeat. "Oh, I suppose I should introduce you. This is Komachi, and ANBU I work with," he said, revealing a blonde behind him they hadn't seen before. She had long dirty blonde hair that was tied up half-way in a bun and pinned up with six hair pieces. Looking at them with teal blue eyes, she waved kindly and said, "Hi! Nice to meet you!"

Ino whistled behind them. "Ooooh! Kakashi-sensei's got a lady friend!"

Instead of being annoyed, like they would have expected, he closed his eyes in a smile and grabbed Komachi's hand, pulling her over to the table. "Haha, I see you are the same as always, Ino."

Naruto elbowed Sakura and Sasuke and whispered to them, "Whoa. Kakashi really _does _have a lady friend."

They nodded in identical surprise.

"Wait. You're going to eat? _Here_? In front of all of us?" Sakura asked Kakashi, clearly in shock.

The three looked at each other and instantly thought the same thing.

_THE MASK._

Following their teacher eagerly over to the table, they surrounded him and his date, staring directly at his face.

Lee, trying to make conversation, asked him, "Kakashi-sensei, have you seen Guy-sensei?"

"Um, no, actually. I haven't. Maybe he's on a mission?" he replied, raising a dumpling up to his face, about to take a bite. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke moved in closer, watching excitedly.

"You don't know!? But we must train to invigorate our youth!" he said, slamming down a fist on the table, effectively spilling water all over Sakura. Jumping up, Sakura complained, "Ohh! Come on, Lee!" Sasuke and Naruto got up to get napkins.

"I am sorry, my love!"

Sighing as she dabbed herself with paper towels, she replied, "No... It's alright. It's just water anyway."

By the time she and the table were cleaned up, the three on Team Seven looked back to their teacher... Just to see him with his mask pulled back on already, swallowing his food.

"Ahh, that was good. I think that's enough food for me tonight. I had ate before I came." he said, sitting back and rubbing his belly in a satisfied way.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all slammed their heads on the table, defeated once again.

Kakashi looked around confusedly.

"What did I do?"

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

"Are you guys ready? Oh my gosh, I am so ready. Let's go! Let's go! Ugh, what's takingso long?" Ryou asked impatiently as he ran around excitedly.

"Ryou, calm down! Jeez," Yumiko scolded, shaking her head.

"Seriously, man. You're acting ridiculous," Hiraku added.

Sticking his tongue out at them, Ryou pouted and said sourly, "You guys are no fun..."

"Alright, alright," Sasuke interjected. "Ryou, it's okay to be excited, just don't over do it."

"HAH! See guys?"

"Well, you _were_ over-doing it, idiot!" Yumiko retorted.

As the three argued amongst themselves, Sasuke looked down the road, waiting for the others to come. Apparently, they were traveling in a small group and would meet the other Lear shinobi when they got there. They were also traveling back with Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Finally, he saw Sakura and her bright pink hair coming down the road. Raising his hand in a wave, he said when she came closer, "Hey. See Naruto and Hinata yet?"

"Morning! No, but I'm pretty sure they're coming too. I think I saw the sand shinobi coming too." she answered.

"Mm. You excited?"

Sakura was beginning to like this new Sasuke, a Sasuke that actually made conversation. "Yeah! I think it'll be a lot of fun! How about you?"

He shrugged. "Good learning experience for them," he said, gesturing to his still-arguing team.

"Awww! You care!" Sakura said, smiling.

As he sighed heavily, he put a hand to his face. "Don't be annoying, Sakura."

She giggled to herself before looking down the street again. "Hey, I think that's them."

Sure enough, they could see Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari walking towards them.

After saying hello, Kankuro rubbed his hands eagerly together and said, "Alright, when are we leaving? Let's get this show on the road!"

Sakura laughed. "You guys excited to go home?"

"Actually, I'm not coming back yet. I've got business with the Hokage, and I have to plan for the next Chuunin Exams." Temari said.

"What!? You're not coming back?" Kankuro exclaimed. "...Fine, but if you come back pregnant with a little Nara baby inside you, I swea-"

Temari whipped out her fan and smacked him. Hard. "Say that again, and it'll be the _last_ thing you ever say."

"Okay! Okay! I give!"

Temari put away her fan as they saw Hinata and Naruto coming down the street. "Yo," Naruto greeted. "Good morning!" Hinata added.

"We're not late, are we?" Naruto asked.

"Little bit, not really," Kankuro shrugged.

"Okay, so is everybody ready?" Sakura asked.

They all said yes in unison.

"Then let's go!"

**A/N:** I'm sorry for my slow updates :(

But review if you like it, please! :)


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Demon of the Unknown, Espionage55, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, funnyfortunecookie, DarkKunoichi15, dngfsh, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, jamesdeathblade, Neeky-chan, TeruSkylar, carmen812, gamer god, nathanielsims3, xSwampmonster, Lilythewolf23, Kyroyukihime, Someday136, Z Girl Warrior, xFlipJamsx, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, Angeliel, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, krivera2325, EnvyUchiha, DarkS1, Midnight-Runaway, Monooke-hime x sukai kurora, GAMEONGREENLASER, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, Hog3y09, AnimeLover431, chelsea,.,p,.,evans, speedyninja, maoriboiz12, xXxgossipgirlxXx, xXxangelkunoichixXx, Faroffinho, Gaara777, LittleMissKD, willy008, The painted lady of the leaf, krivera2325, chris bates, A,.,S,.,Samawalk159, ziggyzaggyy, basketballgirl1185, Allytsuki, apple21, LadyOfTheNorthEpona, autumnfloweres, Jotunn, A1NoSauce, KoolBrunette06, Lessil, sasusaku70123, farhanalj, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**Note to people about Komachi: **Yes, I had some conflicting ideas on who to pair up with Kakashi, and I realize some of you aren't sure or don't really like Komachi, but I couldn't decide because some people liked Anko, didn't like Anko, wanted Shizune, Ayame, etc. I just settled on Komachi because while she is in the anime (for a good two seconds maybe, but still) she doesn't really have a set character, so I could do whatever I wanted really. I'll tell you that she probably won't play the biggest part in this story anyway...

**OC's!**

I was really happy with how many OC's I got, so thanks guys! Here are the... Citations, I guess you could say.

**1. RENNA SUZUKI- Guest **You didn't have a last name, so I just picked one really, but if you don't like it, tell me in a review and I'll change it! The OC's won't be in this chapter yet, but maybe the next one.

**2. TANAKA MORI- OTP-addict**

**3. KATORI OONISHI- LadyOfTheNorthEpona** Again, no last name, so just tell me if you don't like the last name I randomly picked.

**4. KETSUI YAMANAKA- TraptWolf94**

**5. NAKAMURO TANASHI- A,S,Samawalk159**

If I missed any, make sure to TELL ME! Or else your character might not be in the story because I somehow missed it. Remember, it's not too late to submit an OC! You probably have until... Next chapter. I could use some boy genin, some senseis, maybe a snotty and mean person or two, and medics!

**_Check out the poll on my profile!_**

**_CHAPTER 22_**

"Uuggghhh... Are we there yet?" Ryou groaned, his excitement and adrenaline already wearing off. "It feels like we've been going for FOREVER!"

They had been traveling through the trees for a good couple hours already, stopping once only for a bathroom and meal break.

Looking up at the sky, Sakura laughed and said to the exhausted boy, "Hang in there! The sun's going starting to going down, so we can set up camp soon."

He looked at her with hopeful eyes. "So how much longer, then?"

"Ehh... Maybe... Two more hours?"

"WHAT!?" he yelled indignantly.

Naruto let out a large laugh, and leaped over to Ryou, slapping him on the back. "Hey man, this is what you signed up for!"

Ryou straightened a little and seemed to move a bit faster, but even a comment from his role model couldn't erase his laziness. "I know, I know..."

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

_BACK IN KONOHA_

"Chouji, come on. If this is gonna work, you need to do it."

"Noooo! Whhyyy?"

Chouji sat at Ino's kitchen counter, a bowl of healthy green vegetables in front of him. Ino stood over him, and arms crossed and standing her ground, she said to him authoritively, "Eat it."

He protested. "But they're just so _gree_-"

"EAT IT."

Cowering under her angry glare, he timidly picked up a celery stick, his eyes narrowed at the foreign material in his hand, and raised it up slowly to his mouth, about to take a bite. Pausing, he looked back up at Ino and asked innocently, "Are you sure I can't have any barbecue sauce with this?"

"NO! NOW EAT IT, DAMN IT!"

"Fine..." he grumbled. Taking a bite, he chewed it slowly, a pained expression on his face as he choked it down, miraculously managing not to gag it back up.

Doing a classic Ino mood swing, she leaned down to ruffle his hair, saying sweetly, "Awww! Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"It was pretty bad."

Ignoring this comment, she went on to say, "It's for your own good, Chouji! I mean, we've gotta get rid of some of this _tub,_" she finished, patting his large belly.

She was the only one who could call him fat in any way.

"Alright, well... Maybe it wasn't so bad..." he admitted.

She clapped her hands together triumphantly. "Yes! I knew you'd see it my way!"

"But you know what would make it even better?" he asked, Ino looking at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Some barbecue sauce."

"UGGGHHH!" Ino groaned as she put her hands over her face.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

TenTen peered out from behind a shelf. Before he had left, Kankuro had asked her to keep an eye on Temari and Shikamaru, and she was taking her job vey seriously. Even if it meant stalking them everwhere they went together. Leaning forward, she could just barely pick up snippets of their conversation.

"Come on, just pick something. Why are we here again?" Shikamaru asked lazily, picking up a gray pair of socks.

"Because, I didn't expect to be in the village this long, so I need some more things." she said, picking up a shirt and putting it in her basket. "And I think the _real_ question is why are _you_ here?"

"Cause the Hokage ordered me to lead you around the village."

"Yeah, but I've been here for a while, and I'm pretty sure I know how to get around town."

"Orders are orders," he replied, shrugging at her with a face that said, 'What can you do?'

"Riiight," she said, rolling her eyes. Walking around the shelves, she said playfully continued, "I just think you want to spend time with me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there. Just wait a second..."

TenTen leaned forward even farther, trying to hear more of the conversation.

"...No, I think you do..."

"Psh, troublesome..."

_Come on, just a little closer!_ TenTen thought to herself. Leaning forward even more, she caught a glimpse of the two... Before effectively tipping over the entire display of shoes she was leaning on.

"What the hell?" Shikamaru said, whipping around at the sound of the crash. "TenTen? Is that you?"

"Oh! Uh, hey guys!" she replied, putting her hand on her head in the best 'act natural' pose she had. "Uh... What's up?"

"I think we should be asking you that question," Temari replied.

"Well, you know... Just hangin' around!" she replied, chuckling nervously.

"Kankuro," Temari said, raising her eyebrows at the brown-haired kunoichi.

"W-what?"

"Kankuro," she repeated simply. "Kankuro put you up to this."

"Ah," Shikamaru added.

"W-well I don't kn-know what you're talking about," she stuttered back, beginning to sound like Hinata.

"Just drop the act, TenTen. It's fine!"

"Okay, okay, we'll I'm sorry! He just asked me to... And I just... Said yes?"

Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head. "Whatever, it's okay. And frankly, a little expected." Temari nodded in agreement.

"Heheh... Oh, well, uh, sorry... Again." Trying to break the awkward, TenTen said conversationally, "So... Did you see that toy display over there?"

"What display?" Temari asked curiously.

"You really didn't see it?" she replied, surprised. After seeing them shake their heads, she led them over to a large shelf towards the right of the store.

"Look." She pointed at a display of what seemed to be a whole collection of Naruto figures and toys.

"Wow. A whole shelf dedicated to _Naruto_." Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"Nope, not just Naruto!" she said smiling. "Take a look at these." Pickin up two little figurines, she handed them to Shikamaru and Temari.

"It's... Us!" Temari said, in shock.

Shikamaru pressed a button on his mini self, and was surprised to see little plastic shadows pop out of him. He laughed to himself as he said, "This is hysterical."

"I know right?" TenTen agreed.

After analyzing the toy for a good couple seconds, he looked up to say seriously, "...But they got my nose wrong."

After playing with the different toys and laughing at them for a while, Temari and Shikamaru had said they had to go, and after exchanging goodbyes, they left the store. Before TenTen exited the store as well, she picked up a little plushie of Kankuro's Crow puppet, gave it a squeeze, and carried it to the check out line.

.,.,..,.,.,.,.,.,..,.

"Looks like it's time to set up camp," Sasuke said, peering up at the dark sky.

"THANK THE LORD!" Ryou yelled, collapsing on the grass. "I think this is a good spot, no?"

Hiraku sighed, and shaking his head he said, "Get up, idiot."

Hopping down from her spot on a tree branch, Yumiko said to their foolish teammate, "Seriously. _This_ is gonna be embarrassing to show the Sand villagers."

"Wow, you can really just sense the teamwork between those three, eh Gaara?" Kankuro retorted playfully, nudging the Kazekage.

Quiet as usual, Gaara just nodded.

"Alright, so Naruto and Sakura, go get the firework. You three," Sasuke said, indicating to his team, "Set up camp between those trees in the clearing. Gaara and Kankuro, go refill our water in the river over there. Hinata and I will scout the area for any intruders or danger."

"Well then, who made _you_ the boss?" Naruto asked a little grumpily.

Smirking, Sasuke replied, "I did. Now get moving."

"Fine," he huffed. Walking over to Hinata, he gave her a peck on the cheek and said cheerfully, "See ya soon, Hinata!"

As Hinata blushed and smiled back, nobody noticed the surprised and disapproving look Hiraku wore on his face.

,.,.,..,.,.,.

Naruto and Sakura were scowering the area for firewood-worthy sticks and logs, walking around with arms full of twigs and bark.

"Hey, Sakura?" Naruto said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Remember when I used to have that huge crush on you?"

Chuckling awkwardly and wondering where the conversation was going, she replied, "Uh, yes? It was a little creepy at times."

Naruto laughed back, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah... You thought I was pretty annoying back then."

"Well, just a little," she said. When Naruto looked at her with raised eyebrows, she admitted, "Okay, maybe a lot!"

They both laughed together. "So why are you asking me this now?" Sakura asked him curiously.

"Well, I guess I just wanted to tell you..." he paused, taking in a deep breath. "That I've realized that I never really thought of you like that, like a girlfriend, but instead you were like... The big sister I never had, ya know?... You still are." He looked up and smiled at her surprised face.

"And I'm really happy with Hinata right now, so I'm leaving it up to you to give me a trademark super-strong-Sakura punch to the face if I treat her wrong. Really," he finished.

Still in shock at this sudden mature conversation they were having, it took Sakura a couple seconds to find her words, but when she did, she smiled warmly at her comrade. "Wow, you've really grown up, Naruto."

He straightened proudly. "Yeah, I really have, haven't I?" He grinned at her. "So you will, right? You'll make sure I treat Hinata right?"

Looking at him straight in the face with a smile, she used his trademark saying and said, "You better believe it, _brother_."

After a few seconds of staring at eachother with serious expressions, they burst into laughter, almost dropping their sticks.

.,.,.,..,.,.,..

"All clear," Hinata told Sasuke, arriving back at the campsite. "How about y-you?"

"Same," he nodded. "Naruto and Sakura should be back any minute now."

He watched as her eyes lit up at the sound of Naruto's name. At first, he had been surprised that Naruto would pick her of all people, but now he could kind of see how she balanced out his hyperactive attitude with her calm and shy one.

_Whoa, when did I start thinking such deep romantic thoughts?_ he thought to himself, mentally shaking himself.

Hearing the sounds of his two other comrades's voices, he turned his head to see Naruto coming back with Sakura, their arms filled with firewood. His eyes lingered on Sakura. There was just something... _Different_ about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Seeing where Sasuke's gaze was directed, Hinata immediately became protective of her friend and said to him quietly, "You know, S-sasuke, you really hurt Sakura w-when you left the village."

"I know," he replied shortly. She was shocked to see what looked to be a sad expression on his face, but when she looked again, it was gone.

After Sakura and Naruto came to the camp with the wood, the whole group ate rations of the food they had brought with them, talked about the traveling plans for the next day, and went to bed, excited for the day ahead of them.

**A/N:** Like? Dislike? Review! :)


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, hellokitty98, DESGUARDIUS, mistressinwaiting, breezyrhill, Yomi1, yugiohFan441, AnonJ31, cat in dreamland, master1941, TheDelta724, gizzyn, Tactical Joker, SeleneilTheMysterious, The hero of the found, sutefanii uchiha, Theacplanner, MistySIM, Starotto4ever, Hate essays, stranger-in-my-eyes, obsessedwanime, tamosbrogdon, SpartanM60, Animejessi, Demon of the Unknown, Espionage55, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, funnyfortunecookie, DarkKunoichi15, dngfsh, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, jamesdeathblade, Neeky-chan, TeruSkylar, carmen812, gamer god, nathanielsims3, xSwampmonster, Lilythewolf23, Kyroyukihime, Someday136, Z Girl Warrior, xFlipJamsx, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, krivera2325, EnvyUchiha, DarkS1, Midnight-Runaway, Monooke-hime x sukai kurora, GAMEONGREENLASER, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, Hog3y09, AnimeLover431, chelsea,.,p,.,evans, speedyninja, maoriboiz12, xXxgossipgirlxXx, xXxangelkunoichixXx, Faroffinho, Gaara777, LittleMissKD, willy008, The painted lady of the leaf, krivera2325, chris bates, A,.,S,.,Samawalk159, ziggyzaggyy, basketballgirl1185, Allytsuki, apple21, LadyOfTheNorthEpona, autumnfloweres, Jotunn, A1NoSauce, KoolBrunette06, Lessil, sasusaku70123, farhanalj, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

_**POLL RESULTS:** Would you rather read a story where the main character is an OC or a character from the actual series?_

**OC** (14%)

**Real character** (86%)

And the winner is... Real character! There'll be a new poll for the next two weeks, so be sure to _check it out!_

I'm really sorry to those of you complaining about the update waits. I'm doing the best I can, and really, it's hard enough as it is right now... So sorry!

**ORIGINAL CHARACTERS! (Thanks to everybody who submitted!)**

1. JAMARU HIROKO (Flame705)

2. GOEMON KAMOKO (guest)

3. NIHLIEL KERUBIMU (Angellshtar7)

4. RENNA SUZUKI (Guest)

5. TANAKA MORI (OTP-addict)

6. KATORI OONISHI (LadyOfTheNorthEpona)

7. KETSUI YAMANAKA (TraptWolf94)

8. NAKAMURO TANASHI (A,S,Samawalk159)

9. MASATO AKKUO (A,S,Samawalk159)

I had to add some people to make even teams. Also, I know most, if not all, of you had made your characters in the image of them being Leaf Shinobi, but I had to some of them Sand. I hope that is alright with you!

**CHAPTER 23**

"I see it! I see it!" Ryou shouted excitedly, squinting at the image of the Sand Village coming into view.

They had been traveling for yet another couple hours, and though they were refueled from the past night's rest, all of them couldn't wait to stop traveling.

"Ah, you're right, there it is," Sasuke confirmed. "We need to start traveling by foot now. The forest is thinning out." He was right. Looking on, he could see the trees lessening, showing the sandy dessert.

As they all leapt down from their spots on the tree branches, Sakura looked back at Naruto, who had began to get more and more excited as they neared the village. For the previous parts of the journey, he had been quieter. Still his hyperactive self, yet more... Subdued. Instead of being the one on the front lines, pushing everybody ahead, he had hung back a little, animatedly chatting with Hinata who had been positioned in the back to watch for intruders. And surprisingly, Hinata was talking back_, _with a substantial amount of less stuttering, one might add. They balanced each other out, what with Hinata calming Naruto down, and Naruto helping Hinata overcome her shyness. They shared a bond.

_Naruto gave me the job to protect that bond,_ she thought to herself determinedly. _And I'll do whatever it takes._

She looked back ahead to see Sasuke staring at her, a look caught between confusion and laughter on his face. Realizing he had been watching her smile at Naruto and Hinata, probably looking quite creepy, she blushed, slightly embarrassed. "What?" she said defensively.

"Hey, Gaara." Naruto called out to the red head. You excited to go back home?"

Gaara nodded in response. "Yes... Yes I am."

It actually surprised him how much he did miss his village. The village and the people in it... He used to hate them. But now? He knew it was his home.

"Man, must be great to be the Kazakage. Did I tell ya I got promoted to jounin? May not be the Hokage, but it sure as hell is a step!" he exclaimed, grinning widely as Hinata giggled at him.

"You're a shoo-in for Hokage, Naruto!" Ryou said, sucking up to his idol with praise in his eyes.

Naruto straightened proudly, and putting his hands on his hips, he said to them, "Of course I am! I'm NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

The rest of them rolled their eyes, except for Ryou, who looked as though he were about to fall to his knees and bow down to him, as if he were a yellow-haired god.

Sasuke rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. "Please stop. The idiot doesn't need a bigger ego than he already has."

Sakura and Yumiko laughed at his comment. Walking up to Sasuke, Yumiko went on to say, "But it's true, isn't it? Naruto is the best candidate to be the next Hokage. And you three will be the next Sannin!"

Sakura looked at the girl in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"The next three Sannin," she repeated, as though it should have been obvious. "You were all trained under one of the Sannin... So doesn't it make sense that you would be the next in line? That's what everybody says, anyway."

"You know, I think I heard that too," Kankuro added.

Sasuke and Sakura both looked surprised and confused. "Well... I never heard _that_ before," Sakura said slowly as Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Naruto, on the other hand, had a different reaction. "No way! Hokage _and_ Sannin?! Let's see Gaara beat _that_! HAH!" he exclaimed with a fist pump. Putting an arm around Hinata, he squeezed her shoulder and said humorously, "Ah, Hinata. Aren't you one lucky girl? Havin' such a _cool_ and _awesome_ and _powerful_ boyfriend... Tch. All the other girls probably cry when they see you."

Hinata let out a rather un-Hinata-like laugh and smiled at him. "Oh, m-most definitely, Naruto."

They all laughed, except for the ever-quiet Hiraku, who instead clenched his teeth at the sight of the two.

Walking the rest of journey while chattering randomly amongst themselves, they approached Suna's entrance, where they were greeted by a woman who looked to be about twenty-five years old. She looked at them with maple brown hair and dark amber eyes, her apparel consisting of a loose burnt orange shirt and a dark brown skirt. She wore her Sand Village forehead protector around her neck, and her arms and legs were covered with netting.

"Kankuro! Kazekage-sama!" yell called out, waving her hand.

"Kaede!" Kankuro called back. As they got closer, he said, "Hey! How ya been?"

"Great!" she bowed to Gaara politely. "How was your trip, Kazekage-sama?"

"Great as well. Thank you for asking."

"It's my pleasure," she replied, smiling. "Ah, you must be the leaf ninja!"

Sakura nodded. "Yes we are!" She then introduced them, pointing to each person as she listed them off. "I'm Sakura Haruno... This is Ryou Yoshida, Yumiko Kimura, Hiraku Hyuga, Hinata Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki."

A shocked expression had formed on her face when she had introduced Sasuke, and it only grew as she announced Naruto. "Sasuke Uchiha?" she repeated a little nervously. "I don't mean to be rude... But aren't you a criminal-"

"_Ex_-criminal," Sakura interrupted, trying not to sound too harsh.

"R-right, of course! My apologies," she replied sincerely.

"It's all right," Sasuke said, waving her off.

Looking relieved, she continued to say, "And Naruto Uzumaki! It's an honor. I've heard so much about you!"

"Why, thank you!" Naruto said smugly. Elbowing Hinata, he told her, "See? I'm even famous _outside_ the village."

The woman laughed. "It's an honor to meet all of you, really. Thank you so much for coming to the village to help, we really appreciate it."

"No problem!" Naruto said. "Happy to help."

"Great! Now if you just follow me- Oh! I suppose I should tell you my name!" she said, chuckling to herself. "I'm Kaede Yuu, a sensei of one of the teams you'll meet here."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Hinata said back kindly.

"The pleasure is mine," she smiled. "Alright, now come along, and we'll get you situated..."

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

"...And... Here we are!" Kaede announced, bringing them into a building, the place they and the other teams were to stay.

The house was fairly large, the dark wood floors covered with beautiful beige carpeting. Right when you walked into the entrance, you were greeted by two ginormous curving staircases, both going separate ways.

"Whoa," Naruto said, dropping his pack to the floor. "This place is _huge_!"

"Where do we sleep? Where's the kitchen? Are there other team's here yet? Is there a bathroom? I kinda gotta pee," Ryou buzzed excitedly.

"Be quiet, idiot!" Yumiko and Hiraku said simultaneously, Yumiko slapping the green-eyed boy. "Please continue," she said sweetly to Kaede.

Laughing at the two, she said, "Boys sleep upstairs on the left, girls on the right. The boy genin will all share a room, and the boy jounin will as well. Same goes for the girls. The rooms are all pretty big, so don't worry about space." Turning to Hinata and Sakura, Kaede smiled warmly and said happily, "Looks like we're gonna be roomies!"

"So are there any other teams here yet?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Yes, in fact. There is one Konoha team here so far, and we're still waiting for another. They should be around here somewhere..."

As if on cue, a speedy young girl raced down the stairs, poker-straight red hair flying. She was clothed in black shorts paired with a dark green top, arms covered with netting. Skidding to a stop right in front of them, she brushed her shoulder length hair out of her face and said with a friendly grin, "Hey, what's up?"

"Ah, here's one of mine. This is Renna," Kaede said, gesturing to the girl in front of them.

"Renna Suzuki, at your service!" she said happily, looking at them with deep green eyes.

"You unpacked, right Renna?"

"Yeah, yeah, woman. Quit hassling me," the young girl replied impolitely, waving her off.

"Always a piece of work, this one," she sighed. "Well, at least with me, anyway."

"Ooh! Another team's here? No way!" a voice exclaimed from on top of the stairs.

"That's another one of mine," Kaede said.

They all looked back up at the steps to see another young girl. She wore a scarlet red hoodie with black shorts. After rushing down the stairs, she stuck her hand out boldly to each person, shaking everybody's hand. "Hiya! I'm Katori Oonishi."

She stepped back after greeting them to stand next to Renna.

"Wow, Sasuke, look at her! You two could almost be siblings!" Sakura laughed. With straight black hair and onyx eyes to match, she _did_ look a bit like a possible Uchiha, Sasuke had to admit.

He smirked and shrugged. "Maybe." Though he knew Sakura had said it with good intention, the subject of siblings was a bit of a sore spot for him, and he quickly changed the subject. "So where are the others?"

"I think Isamu went with Masato's team in the sitting room, and Masato himself is in the kitchen," Katori supplied.

The large group walked through a hallway between the two staircases, and entered another large room. "The sitting room, everybody!" Katori announced.

With a dark wooded coffee table to match the floor, cream colored sofas and plush armchairs sat in different parts of the room, looking extremely comfortable. On the farside of the room was a crackling fireplace, emanating warmth throughout the whole room. Three genin sat already in the room, talking amongst themselves.

"Sakura?" a cute blonde girl called out.

"Huh? Wait a minute... Ketsui? Is that you?" she replied.

"Yes!" she said, getting out of her seat to give the older girl a hug. High pigtails swung around her blue-eyed face, and full-fringed bangs covered her forehead. Dressed in all black, she wore a belly shirt with slight netting poking out and thick criss-crossing shoulder straps. Her legs were barely covered by a short skirt and underlying netting, and black fabric wrapped around the lower part of her arms.

"You two know each other?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah! This is Ino's little cousin, Ketsui Yamanaka," Sakura said excitedly. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too! How are y-"

The heartfelt reunion was abruptly interrupted by an impolite Ryou, who barged into the room and through the two at the sight of a place to rest. Collapsing into a squishy chair, he sighed with content and said dreamily, "Ohh...This is the life..."

Too tired to scold him for his idiocy as usual, Yumiko and Hiraku followed suit, sinking into the adjacent sofa. Renna and Katori sat on the square footstool in front.

Hinata and Sakura laughed at the cute sight. "How about you five stay in here and introduce yourselves, and us four will be in the kitchen, talking to the other sensei. Okay?"

"Psh, I wasn't gonna get up anyway," Ryou replied lazily, while Yumiko and Hiraku nodded in agreement.

"I'll see you later, Ketsui!" Sakura called out. After waving to the others, they then left, leaving the genin to be alone.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

"So..." Ryou said conversationally. "What's up? Uhh... I'm Ryou Yoshida."

"Yumiko Kimura!"

"Hiraku Hyuga."

Ketsui giggled. "Well, I guess you know my name now, Ketsui! I'm on sensei Masato's team.

"I am as well!" a boy sitting next to Ketsui said with dramatic excitement. He had orange hair pulled back in a spiky ponytail. "Jamaru Hiroko, nice to meet you!"

"Hey... Your clothes... They look kinda like that weird Lee guy's!" Yumiko said. Looking back at him, they could indeed see his identical outfit of a green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers.

"...That weird Lee guy? THAT WEIRD LEE GUY?! I will have you know that Mr. Rock Lee is one of the greatest shinobi to have ever lived! His moves, so graceful. His speed, so quick. His hair, so shiny. His eyes... So... Large. His-"

"Alright alright! We get it!" Yumiko said laughingly. "I'll admit, Lee is pretty cool."

"Thank you," he replied, seemingly satisfied. "Saying he's not is just... Injustice."

"Who's yelling?" came a calm voice from the hallway entrance. "Jamaru, was that you?"

"Oh, _there_ you are, Nakamuro. I was just telling this girl Yumiko here how great Mr. Rock Lee really is!" he replied.

"By yelling? Well, that's no way to treat a lady."

Finally entering the room, a boy with spiked-up sandy brown hair came into view. The first thing they had noticed was that his clothes were all a bit too big on him. His white jacket sleeves going past his wrists and hiding his hands from sight, and his white pant legs (the right emblazoned with a green flame) too long. Even the green shirt he was wearing underneath the jacket seemed a bit baggy. With smiling emerald eyes, he politely introduced himself with a happy grin. "Hi, I'm Nakamuro Tanashi, teammates with Ketsui and Jamaru."

They then went around and all re-introduced themselves.

"Yumiko Kimura!"

"Hiraku Hyuga."

"Ryou Yoshida!"

"Renna Suzuki!"

"Katori Oonishi!"

They looked towards the last boy to have not introduced himself yet and stared expectantly. With a noticeable strong build and tanned skin, his hair was an unusual greenish-brown color, and his eyes a striking yellow. He seemed to emanate an aura of confidence and bravery, so when they heard his quiet voice, it was quite a surprise.

"And I'm Isamu Kenta..." he said, his voice hardly above the volume of a whisper. His cat-like eyes peered around the room a little nervously. "I am, um, on the-" he paused to awkwardly clear his throat. "Ahem, sorry. I am on the same team as Renna and Katori."

The two girls waved back at the group.

Ryou clapped his hands together. "Alright! Well, I think that's everybody. Well, everybody right now, that is. Now we just gotta do it all over when the last team arrives..."

The group laughed together, the small joke seeming to have broken some of the ice.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

"Hi! You must be Masato Akkuo, the other sensei," Sakura said walking up to a spiky blue-haired man in the kitchen. He wore the simple outfit of a long sleeved black shirt, blue ninja pants, and a jounin vest.

"Yup, that's me. Did you bring a team as well?" Masato asked her.

"Oh, no. I'm just a medic," Sakkura laughed. "_He's_ the other sensei," she said, gesturing to Sasuke.

The Uchiha boy walked up to shake Masato's hand. "Sasuke Uchiha," he greeted.

"Ah, Sasuke Uchiha. Read a lot about you." Shaking back firmly, he said, "It's a pleasure."

"You've _read_ about me?"

Chuckling embarrassedly, Masato rubbed the back of his head with a bandage-wrapped arm and said, "Well, I guess you could say I'm a bit of a history fanatic... I'll probably go off on long lectures every once in a while," he joked.

A few moments passed with the two blankly staring at each other, Masato's light brown, borderline yellow, eyes against Sasuke's intimidating dark ones. "You're younger than I expected," Sasuke said blatantly.

"I could say the same for you," he replied smilingly. "I'd say we're about the same age."

"So... If you're a history fanatic," Naruto said casually, butting into the conversation. "I'm guessing you know who I am?"

Masato laughed. "Of course I do. You're Naruto Uzumaki! I don't know if there's a single shinobi in the Five Great Nations that doesn't know your name!"

Naruto smirked at Sasuke with a face that said, 'jealous?'

Masato looked at Hinata. "Ah, and a Hyuga! I'm guessing... Hinata? Heir to the respected Hyuga clan?"

Hinata nodded, pleased despite herself that he actually knew who she was. "Y-yes, and it is a pleasure to meet you!"

Looking down at her hand, which was currently intertwined with Naruto's, he commented, "Ah, and you two are dating?"

A blush spilled onto Hinata's cheeks as Naruto squeezed her hand and replied loudly, "You know it! What about you? Got yourself a girfriend?"

"No, no. I don't mean any disrespect when I say this, but I've always found love to be rather... Unimportant," he replied.

"Well," Naruto shrugged with a smile, "I guess everybody's got their own opinions!"

"Yes, I suppose they do."

.,.,...,.,..,.,.,.

It was a couple hours later that they all found themselves in the sitting room again. Having all unpacked, they were able to look around the house a bit more, and examine the bedrooms. Each room had the same basics, differing mostly only in the number of beds and the size of the room, depending on who slept there. The beds were decently sized and surprisingly comfortable, coming with a down comforter and a soft pillow.

As they sat and chattered amongst themselves, it was then that they heard knocking and a muffled voice call out. "Hellooooo?"

"One sec!" Kaede called back. "Shoot. I was supposed to be waiting for them by the gate, wasn't I?" She got up to rush to the door, the rest following behind her.

After walking back through the hallway, they neared the front entrance to see the final team, luggage in tow, standing behind the door.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Kaede apologized, quickly unlocking the door to let them in. "I completely forgot I was supposed to be waiting outside!"

"It's alright, really! Wasn't too hard to find the place, anyway," she reassured her. Looking at the rest of the group, she gave a small wave and said, "Hi! I'm Nihliel Kerubimu."

It was plain to see that the woman was, needless to say, stunning. Dark sapphire eyes stood out gleaming on her face, framed by her long black hair that reached down to her lower back. She wore a long and flowy light-blue skirt, slitted up the side to reveal slender legs that wore stylish yet conventional heels. A small royal blue top covered her breast with matching cuffs on each arm, and netting covered her back and stomach, as to not be too revealing.

"Nihliel, hey!" Sakura said to the gorgeous woman.

"Sakura? Oh my goodness, I didn't even see you there!" Nihliel replied, going up to give her friend a hug.

"Quite the popular one, aren't you?" Sasuke smirked at her.

Rolling her eyes at him, Sakura said, "Nihliel here happens to work in the Konoha hospital with me, thank you very much."

He nodded. "Pleasure to meet you."

She nodded back. "Oh! I should probably introduce you to the rest of my team..." While walking back over, she accidentally tipped over a flowerpot and almost face planted on the ground, her grace obviously not matching her beauty. "Whoops! Yeah... I'm pretty, uh, clumsy..."

Walking over to a shy-looking girl, she announced dramatically, "Tanaka Mori, everybody!" The girl looked a bit nervous, her auburn hair pulled back from her pale face with her forehead protector, revealing stormy gray eyes, but she smiled none the less. Dressed in a loose, dark blue shirt with elbow-length sleeves, blue ninja pants, and matching blue sandals, the girl seemed to be wearing all blue, like that of her sensei. "Hello," she said quietly.

"Next up... Zuki Wakanaaaaaaa!"

Nihliel grandly gestured to a petite girl, with outstandingly white hair pulled back in a high ponytail, contrasting her tan face. Aquamarine eyes stared at them with a sort of peaceful-dreamy look, and she was outfitted with a long-sleeved teal dress, belted with a sash that matched her eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Walking over to the last genin, a boy sprouting black hair, she announced, "And last but not least... Please welcome, Goemon Kamoko!"

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week folks!" the boy joked, waving his hands in the air as they laughed. Like his other teammates, he wore some type of blue clothing, in his case, a deep blue shirt that brought out his cerulean eyes. Over said shirt, he wore a flak jacket, and also a pair of black ninja pants. "Hope you remember that, pretty ladies." he said, looking at Renna, Katori, and Yumiko.

"Ugh, ignore him," Tanaka said, rolling her eyes. "He's such a flirt!" Zuki nodded earnestly in agreement.

"Psh, I am not!" he protested, but as he turned around, he gave Yumiko a sly wink, making her cheeks redden despite herself.

"Alright, so what are your names?" Nihliel asked.

While they repeated the exhaustingly long list of names, Nihliel stared at them blankly, and when they finally finished, she continued looking at them in silence for a few moments. "Yeah, it's gonna take me a while to get all that," she said quickly. "Always been a bit... Forgetful," she said, tapping on her head.

Laughing, Kaede turned to the whole group and said, "Okay, well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. How about some dinner?"

"YES!" they all exclaimed simultaneously. It was a unanimous decision, and they all headed back into the kitchen to eat.

"Any suggestions?" she asked on the way in.

Naruto piped up. "Got any ramen?"

**A/N:** Hope you all liked your OCs! Tell me if I need to fix anything.

Like? Dislike? REVIEW! :)

This chapter was basically just an introduction to new characters chapter, so I'm sorry if it wasn't that great. Not the best at describing characters and making it flow, so I kind of struggled with this chapter a bit... (LONGEST CHAPTER YET, THOUGH!)


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Special thanks to the following people...**

Kedo, Whateverdontcare, sachesan, Usmcj88, saku-pamacs, XxXFiReNdErXxX, TsubakiUzumaki, broken-heart-crossing, skatejayson, Aztumer, Maikan908, SnugglesB, demonclaws12, TheYoungin, Mikan908, hellokitty98, DESGUARDIUS, mistressinwaiting, breezyrhill, Yomi1, yugiohFan441, AnonJ31, cat in dreamland, master1941, TheDelta724, gizzyn, Tactical Joker, SeleneilTheMysterious, The hero of the found, sutefanii uchiha, Theacplanner, MistySIM, Starotto4ever, Hate essays, stranger-in-my-eyes, obsessedwanime, tamosbrogdon, SpartanM60, Animejessi, Demon of the Unknown, Espionage55, OTP-addict, tenten984, Sakura 8D, vewtwo, TraptWolf94, shabdika, micsternarutolover1224, mythicalbookreader, champp6, Iuzhikari, JayThawN, lili28shinigami, Rafaeru, Turmanarmo, Angeliel, Mordmil, sakurakagome, temeo hatake, funnyfortunecookie, DarkKunoichi15, dngfsh, GrayPen, terranred, Sayuki Uchiwa, Imperfect Cheesecake, Rose Duchess, Jackieruffles, blackrose777, Nore123, jamesdeathblade, Neeky-chan, TeruSkylar, carmen812, gamer god, nathanielsims3, xSwampmonster, Lilythewolf23, Kyroyukihime, Someday136, Z Girl Warrior, xFlipJamsx, flasherunlimited, alohaholly, Lyeundu, deandre,.,campbell,.,395, Jaden Cage, skShadowKissed, Lizzy Lissa, CIOP970, sakura9801185, Play1024, Helen delia, Jakestorm49, Bad-Kitty-Kill, EverForbiddenTruth, beerbelly, nolanv3, GeeksAnonymous211, Ookami,.,makuda, M,.,Da,.,Boss305, FallenWolf007, Jakespeed207, Snowflake-Lady, Animeprincess2001, sharingan 40k, DiamondDustRebellion, Ryujin65, Sharky-Chan94, LeBow03, OneCrimsonMoon, Chibi-Baka-Kitsune, Bloodthirsty Omega, Asile,.,99, ocmy, Sheep-san, AnimeFreakzoid911, RosieSakura27, DanixDP213, kyuubilord, Kljhorse, zacman136, Mawii99, RefusedAngel, death the kid 722, dreamydaydreamer, annashina, xitragupte, Solarstar33, Angellshtar7, zacman136, alaxbird, rockerXoXhinata, krivera2325, EnvyUchiha, DarkS1, Midnight-Runaway, Monooke-hime x sukai kurora, GAMEONGREENLASER, MasterDickmanto, Narutoxhinata5, Yu Kazama, Hog3y09, AnimeLover431, chelsea,.,p,.,evans, speedyninja, maoriboiz12, xXxgossipgirlxXx, xXxangelkunoichixXx, Faroffinho, Gaara777, LittleMissKD, willy008, The painted lady of the leaf, krivera2325, chris bates, A,.,S,.,Samawalk159, ziggyzaggyy, basketballgirl1185, Allytsuki, apple21, LadyOfTheNorthEpona, autumnfloweres, Jotunn, A1NoSauce, KoolBrunette06, Lessil, sasusaku70123, farhanalj, and Ayrmed for reviewing, following, and/or favoriting!

**_Check out the poll!_**

I had some late OC submissions, so I'll try to fit those in. It might not be this chapter, but maybe in some in the future. I'm sorry, but I really can't accept anymore OCs, so please don't send in anymore! Thank you!

Ohh, the suspense with Hiraku. More on that next chapter, and even after in the one after that! ...Or so I PLAN, anyway.

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARUTO!** _Kinda upset they didn't do anything for it in the episode... :(

**New OCs** (To be added in this chapter or later):

_HOSHINO AKARUI_- Guest

_GINA UME_- Espionage55

_SHUN UMASHIMI_- Ryujin65

_ALKIMARU OBETE_- A,S,Samawalk,159

**CHAPTER 24**

"GOOOOOOD MORNING!" Sakura sang, banging a spoon against a metal pan as she burst into the jounin boys' bedroom. Hinata stood behind her, still in the doorway. She was too shy to even think about going into a _boy's_ room.

Shocked awake, Masato sprang into a sitting position. "Well..." he said wearily. "That was quite the wake up call."

Sasuke chuckled from his spot against the wall. He, of course, had already been awake, as he commonly got up at the crack of dawn. He had actually just been about to go downstairs when Sakura had barged in. "Ah, she is quite loud," he said, smirking at the pink-haired girl.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she reflected his smirk and said, "I'm gonna take that as a compliment, thank you very much!" A large snore came from the corner of the room, and glancing over, she saw Naruto, sprawled out over the mattress and dead asleep. "But obviously not loud enough," she laughed.

Readying her pan and spoon, she walked over to his bed with an evil smile on her pale face. Leaning in close to his ear, she took in one big breath.

"_NARUTO_!" she screamed, giving the pan a loud whack.

Naruto laid there, unmoving. Another little snore came out of his mouth. Masato and Sasuke looked on with humored faces.

Grunting with dissatisfaction, she rolled her eyes and nudged him with her hand. "Naruto! Come on, get up!"

Sakura looked hopeful as he began to stir, only to have her face fall as she watched him simply roll over in his sleep.

"Ugh!" She was beginning to get impatient. "NA-RU-TO," she yelled, whacking the pan with each syllable.

"Hn. Let me try," Sasuke said, walking over. "Hey dobe, there's ramen downstairs."

Nothing.

"Hm. Thought that would work," he shrugged. "Maybe he's dead."

"Right," Sakura laughed. "Dead people _snore_."

Sasuke shrugged in response. "Maybe."

"Nice effort," Sakura said sarcastically, but smiled all the same. Turning serious, she rolled back her sleeves and reared back her arm. "Alright, Naruto. You give me no choice-"

"Wait!" Hinata said panickedly. "Y-you're not going to hurt him, are you?"

Sakura sighed. "Well, he's not getting up any other way."

"B-but, couldn't you t-ry something else?"

"Why don't you try, Hinata?" Masato said from his spot on the bed. He gave her a smile. "Third person's the charm!"

"M-me? Well I don't think-"

"Oh come on," Sakura said, walking over to the shy girl. Pulling her by the sleeve, she dragged the young Hyuga over to the bed and stood there expectantly. "Work your magic."

Hinata looked down at the floor, a blush spilling onto her cheeks. Playing with her fingers, she stuttered softly, "Um, N-naruto-"

Naruto shot out of bed, making Hinata yelp with surprise. Stumbling and tripping over the blankets, he clumsily fell on his back. He looked up from his spot on the ground and yawned.

"Hinata? Oh, hey guys, what are you doin' in here?" he said tiredly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Sakura stared open-mouthed at the idiotic boy. "Wait... WHAT!?" she shrieked, her eyes going up in flames as she fumed.

Naruto cried out in fear. "What'd I do!?"

Masato chuckled to himself. "Like I said. Third time's the charm!"

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

_Back in Konoha..._

"Why are we coming here again?" Omoi asked, his lollipop moving with his lips as he talked.

"Just another post-war meeting with Konoha. The Raikage sent us, remember?" Samui said cooly.

"Oh, yeah. Of course!"

"Psh. Idiot," Karui snorted. "Don't you remember anything?"

"Yes! Well...Maybe..." he said, panic forming in his voice. "Maybe, I'm losing my mind, and I'm going insane. Then, in battle, what if I forget everything and risk everybody's lives? Then what if I go back to the Raikage and he finds out what I've done, and he revokes my ninja status? Then what if I-"

"SHUT UP!" Karui yelled, giving him a whack. "Jeez, you worry all the time."

"Well, _you're_ too angry all the time!" he said back, a little offended. "Keep it up and that dog-boy you like will never like you back. Plus there's the matter of your small bosom size..."

"WHAT!?"

"It's true! I mean look at Samui," he said, moving over to indicate the blonde's large breasts. "They're like two huge melons right there!" He pointed to Karui's chest. "Flat." Then he switched back to Samui, repeating this a couple times. "Flat. Large! Flat. Large! Flat. Lar-"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT, MORON!" Karui yelled at him again, punching him in the stomach.

"Will you two just stop it already?" Samui snapped, interrupting their fight. "You aren't exactly making a good example for Shun and Gina."

She pointed to two genin following closely behind them. The first a young, sleepy-looking boy, with long blonde hair that reached his shoulder blades, kept back by a bandana. He wore the simple outfit of a sleeveless dark blue shirt and black shorts.

Omoi walked up to the young boy and ruffled his hair. "Oh yeah, don't wanna poison your minds with our fighting," he laughed.

The boy stepped away from Omoi, his hazel eyes glaring at him. "Hey. Hey! Watch the hair!" he said, covering his head protectively. The girl next to him let out a girlish laugh.

Her long sandy blonde hair reached down to her lower back, almost touching her dark green pants. She wore a brilliant purple t-shirt, and she smiled with clear cerulean eyes, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled at Shun. "Like, oh my gosh, Shun. Why are you so, like, obsessed with your hair?"

"Because. It's beautif-uuuuaaaaahhhhh," he said, his words getting cut off by a large yawn.

Karui shook her head with amazement. "How can you still be tired? You sleep all the time!"

"What can I say?" he shrugged. "It's a gift."

...,..,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"Oooh! What is that? Smells delicious!" Nihliel exclaimed as she entered the kitchen, inhaling deeply. Everybody was awake now, bustling around the house and getting ready for the day.

"That," Kaede said, placing a bowl of rice on the counter, "is breakfast."

"Is it ready yet? I'm _starving_," Ryou groaned impatiently.

Yumiko elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't be so rude, idiot!"

"So what are the plans today?" Sakura asked, taking a seat at the long kitchen table. Everybody stopped to look at Kaede, also curious as to what they were going to do for the day.

"Well, we're all supposed to meet with the Kazekage to discuss jobs," she said, nodding to Sakura, Nihliel, and Hinata. "You three will be assigned work in the hospital." Turning to Naruto, she told him, "You have a specific job, as I'm sure you've been told. Gaara-sama will speak more to you about that."

"And the rest of us?" Sasuke asked.

She spooned the rest of the eggs she had been cooking into a bowl. "We," she started, wiping her hands off with a towel, "get the fun job of just... Well, socializing, I guess you could say. That is why you're here, really. Renna, pass out the plates, would you?"

"Ugh, why me?"

"Fine," Kaede sighed. "Katori, would _you_?"

The dark haired girl laughed. "Yeah, sure, sensei."

Hiraku furrowed his brow. "Socializing? What does that include?"

"Really Hiraku? You're _that_ much of a loner?" Ryou joked, causing Yumiko to elbow him again, but not without a small smile.

"Oh, well you know," Kaede replied. "Talking... Sparring... etcetera... You know?"

He nodded, going back in to his usual quiet-mode.

Nihliel frowned. "Guess I'll have to miss out on the fun, then. Can't exactly go to the hospital _and_ spar." She turned to her team. "You guys can manage without me, right?"

Zuke nodded dreamily. "Of course, sensei. We will do just fine."

Goemon smirked, winking flirtatiously, and said, "Yeah, don't you worry. I'll keep these two lucky ladies in line."

"Really?" Tanaka said, rolling her eyes at her teammate. "No, but really Nihliel sensei, we can manage. It's only too bad you can't come with us."

"Great," Nihliel smiled. "Well, maybe I can come another time."

"Alright everybody," Kaede anounced. "Breakfast is served!"

"YES! Finally!" Ryou exclaimed, immediately spooning heaps of rice onto his plate.

"Hey!" Jamaru protested. "Save some for the rest of us!"

Letting out an uncharacteristic snort, Ketsui added, "More like the rest of the _village_."

"Here," Nakamuro said, his emerald eyes crinkling at the corners. "You can have some of mine.

"Wow, why can't you be more like Nakamuro? All... Gentleman-ish," Yumiko said to Ryou. She sighed and shook her head, turning to Renna and Katori. "Yeah... We just don't know what to do with that boy," she said, making the corners of Hiraku's mouth turn up in a humored smile.

The rest of the food was passed around the table. Steamed green beans, white rice, and scrambled eggs were handed off and spooned on to each person's plate, more on Ryou's than everybody else, to most everybody's displeasure. The group fell into silence as they all ate their breakfast.

Breaking the quiet, Goemon piped up and said, "Jeez Isamu, be quiet, would you?"

The shy boy blushed and almost dropped his fork. "U-um, I'm sorry, I.."

The dark haired boy smiled and nudged him with his hand. "Hey, relax man. I was just kidding!"

Hinata's heart went out to the insecure boy. She understood how he felt, because felt had felt that way before. She _still_ felt that way. But it was lesser now. She looked over at Naruto and caught his eye. Smiling and winking at her, he gave a small wave from across the table. That sort of thing used to make her faint, but now... It just warmed her heart. "S-so, when we are all finished eating, we'll go to the meeting with Gaara?"

"Yes," Kaede answered, nodding with confirmation. "In fact, I'm full right now."

"Same here," Masato nodded, pushing his plate away. The rest choruses their replies.

"Yeah, I'm stuffed!"

"Done."

"Finished too!"

"That was delicious, Kaede," Sakura said sincerely. Breakfast _had_ been great, one of the best things she'd eaten in a while. "Here, let me help you with that," she continued, getting up to put the dishes in the sink.

"Oh, don't worry about washing them," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "The Kazekage hired maids to do some of the chores around here. They'll do it while we're gone."

"Whoa. This place really does have good living!" Naruto said, stretching his arms out in a relaxed way. "So is everybody ready? Let's get going!"

.,.,.,.,.,,.,.,.,

_Dear Kankuro,_

_How are you? I hope you've been well and returned to Suna safely. And how are the others doing? Anyway, __I've been doing as you said, keeping an eye on Temari and Shikamaru for you. I don't know if this'll be good or bad news for you (Probably bad in your view), but they seem to be getting closer to eachother. No proof that they're dating necessarily, but it looks to me like it's getting there. I suppose I should also tell you that they know you've told me to watch them. They pretty much flat-out told me so. I'm sorry this probably isn't the update you wanted. Write me back!_

_Sincerely, TenTen_

_P.S. Shikamaru isn't a bad guy, really. I think if Temari had to date somebody, you should be glad it's him and not some idiot. Just my opinion is all!_

Kankuro looked at the neatly-written letter in his hands. He was sitting in Gaara's office, leaning against the wall.

_Damn. Not exactly what I wanted to hear._

Looking up from the paper, he stared at the summoning scroll that laid on the table. After he had asked TenTen to watch his older sister for him, she had given him the scroll, claiming it would be a lot faster than sending regular messages back and forth. Boy, was she right. The scroll worked both ways, and all they had to do was place the letter on top of it and send it through, a sort-of reverse summoning. This had been the first he had heard from her since he left, and though the news inside the letter made him wanna crumple it up in frustration, he felt the weird need to save it. As though it was special.

Shaking thise thoughts from his head, he thought about what she had said in the post-script. He knew Shikamaru was a good guy. Actually, he quite liked him. But still, it was his _sister_.

"Kankuro," Gaara said across his spot at his desk, interrupting his train of thought. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, nothing important." He was planning to show him sooner or later, but they were expecting the leaf ninja any moment now, and he didn't want him to get angry.

Almost as if on cue, Naruto burst into the room, the rest of the group following close behind. "Gaara! Kankuro! What's up?"

Gaara smiled one of his rare small smiles. "Naruto. I am well. I trust that you are having a good stay so far?"

"Definitely! Man, that house we're staying in is so sweet. It's huge! I mean like the bedrooms..." Naruto blathered on, Gaara content just to listen.

When he was through, Sakura stepped up. "Good morning, Gaara! So, we're here for our assignments and what not, right?"

"Right," he nodded. "As for the medics, I do not know exactly what the hospital needs position-wise, but I have given your information to the staff, and they know where to assign you from there. I was told to tell you to meet in the main office area."

Sakura, Hinata, and Nihliel nodded.

He turned to Naruto. "I assume Tsunade gave you a summary about what your job is?"

"You mean use my super awesome Tailed Beast Mode to make trees and stuff, right" He paused for a second, looking as though we was listeni g to something. "Sorry, _our_ super awesome Tailed Beast Mode. Kurama likes it better that way," Naruto said, patting his belly.

"Right," Gaara said, understandably unphased by what Naruto had just done. "Basically, you can just run rampant in the designated areas, hitting everything with your chakra."

Clapping his hands together excitedly, he replied, "Great! Sounds like the job for me."

Gaara smiled again. Naruto's positive attitude seemed to be contagious. "The rest of you can do whatever you please, so enjoy yourselves."

Kankuro spoke up. "If I may, I recommend the new dumpling place around the street. It's delish."

"Will do!" Hinata answered. They all moved to walk out the door, bowing respectfully as they went along.

"Oh, and one more thing," Gaara said, causing them to all turn back around. "In three days, the village is hosting a festival celebration in honor of the war being over. We would all like it if you were to come."

"A festival? No way, that sounds fantastic!" Yumiko said happily.

"Yeah! But I have nothing to wear," Nihliel said sadly. "It's not like I decided to pack my formal kimonos with me." The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

"Ah, I know a few shops around where we can get some things. Don't worry!" Kaede answered.

Gaara nodded at the group. "That is all. You're dismissed."

.,.,.,.,.

**A/N:** Sorry for the somewhat late update! Got lazy since I have a fI've day weekend this week. :)

Like? Dislike? Review!


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**: Special thanks to the following people...

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I apologize a thousand times for the SUPER late update... Exams were killing me, and I've been swamped with homework. :( I'll understand if I've lost some readers, and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

Happy birthday to meeee! (that would be another reason for the late update. So sorry! Updates should be faster now. Let's just say I got some... Technology as a gift. :D)

[The OC Hoshino actually belongs to OTP-addict. My mistake!]

**CHAPTER 25**

"Alright, so our hospital is divided into sections. Urgent care, moderate care, therapy, check-ups, and pharmacy," A red headed medic said, leading Nihliel, Sakura, and Hinata through a long, narrow hallway. They had met in the main office area, as Gaara had told them to, and had been immediately whisked away for their instructions.

The woman stopped at a three way intersection of hallways. Looking down at her clipboard, she said, "I understand that out of the three of you... Sakura Haruno?"

"That would be me!" the rosette kunoichi chirped.

"Yes, it says here that you are the most advanced. We would like you to be working under the moderate to urgent sections, helping out with the more difficult cases."

"Absolutely. Happy to help."

Nihliel stepped forward. "If you want, I would be happy to work under the moderate cases as well. That's what I did in Konoha."

The woman paused and looked down at her clipboard for a few moments, adjusting her black rimmed glasses. "Yes... That would be perfect, thank you! Now, we do need somebody to help take care of the check-ups. Not exactly an exhilarating job, and you would be working mostly with kids..."

Hinata perked up at this, her mind flooding with the memory of her first date with Naruto, where he had told her how great she would be working with children.

_"I always kind of wanted to work with children at the academy,"_

_"You'd be good at it," Naruto replied seriously._

_"I-I would?" she returned, quite surprised._

_"Yeah, of course! You're so caring and gentle... All the kids would love you!"_

Fueled by her new confidence, she spoke without a single stutter. "I would like to fill the check-up position, please, if you need me." She then smiled widely at the woman, proud of her small accomplishment.

The medic looked up in surprise. On her clipboard, the Hokage had sent the hospital short bio's on all three of the girls, and the Hyuuga girl had been written down as being quite shy and timid. This girl, however, didn't seem to be either of those. In fact, she seemed to be glowing with confidence at the moment. "T-thank you! That would be... Great!" she said, returning the smile. "Okay, so you can find your appropriate rooms down this hallway. Check-ups on the right, moderate not the left, urgent straight to the farthest door. Come here tomorrow at six in the morning and be ready to work. If you get lost, you can look at the guide on the wall, or you can just ask any medic you come across. Understand?"

Despite how fast the woman had spoken, the three girls had understood and nodded simultaneously. With that, the woman had nodded back and briskly walked away.

"Well. We were kind of thrown into that, weren't we?" Nihliel said, after a few moments of silence.

Hinata and Sakura laughed at this in agreement. "Oh, you should've seen the way Tsunade-sama just threw assignments at me. It was like _hell_," Sakura said. They all started moving down the hallway, hoping to get out of the building.

"I believe it! Just being a regular medic in her hospital was scary enough, but being her apprentice! I don't know if I could've done that." They walked together in silence for a few minutes, before Nihliel spoke up again. "You know, they say you'll surpass the Hokage in medical skills-"

"Well, I don't know about that," Sakura interrupted, blushing.

The blue-eyed girl continued, ignoring her comment. "So doesn't that mean whoever you train will be the next best medic?"

"I n-never thought about that," Hinata added, her stutter seemingly coming back.

"I never have either..." Sakura agreed.

Nihliel looked over curiously at her. "I know it's early, but have you found anyone with any promise that you might want to take as your student?"

Pausing in her steps, Sakura put her hand on her chin and thought for a moment. Finally looking back, she said, "Actually, there's this girl on Sasuke's team that looks like she has some promise. I actually trained with her a little bit, and she had great chakra control."

"Sasuke's team... The silver-haired one?"

Hinata nodded. "Yumiko Kimura!"

"Cool," she said. "I'll have to pay attention to her!"

The group lapsed into another silence, walking side by side through the winding hallways. After a good five minutes, Hinata broke the silence again.

"H-hey guys?"

"Yeah?"

"I t-think we're lost."

The three stopped, breaking into large giggles as they turned around to find a hospital medic.

.,.

.,.

"Where are you taking me?" Temari asked impatiently as Shikamaru led her up an extremely large and steep grassy hill. It was the early evening, and the sun was rapidly going down. "We've been walking and climbing _forever_. When are we gonna get to this place?"

Rolling his eyes, he replied with a slightly annoyed tone, "Do you ever _not_ ask annoying questions?"

"Nope!" she answered, giving him a humored smirk.

He shook his head. "Troublesome." Reaching the top of the hill, he craned his head upwards to look at the beautiful scene of the sky. The sharp edges of Hokage Monument pierced the sun, bleeding out into an array of deep and vibrant reds, oranges, purples, pinks, and smoky blues. The lit up windows of the villagers's houses brightened the town.

Temari stared, eyes gaping, at the gorgeous sight. "Wow," she breathed. "It's... Amazing!"

Shikamaru plopped down on the soft ground, and keeping his head towards the picture-perfect scene. "Mm. 'Sharpen your sickle at sunset!'," he said to her. "Isn't that what you like to say?"

She moved to sit down next to him, her hands supporting her weight as she leaned back. She sighed. "And one view, a thousand ri. I'm... surprised you remember that."

He shrugged in response.

"I'm also surprised someone as lazy as you likes to climb up steep hills to watch the sunset."

Lying back fully on his back, he tucked his hands behind his head. "Yeah, well, I'm normally more of a cloud person," he said to her. "To be a cloud... To just float around in the sky, not worrying about anything, not feeling any pain. Just being free." Turning to look at her, he continued, "But sunsets. They're bright, and beautiful, and sharp. Giving you those few minutes to just forget about everything, before you're left back in the dark. Those few minutes are what I climb up here for."

Temari stared at him I'm awed silence. Then, shaking herself from her slight shock, she smirked and quoted herself. "'Unexpected fragility... Men are strange.'" She then continued, asking him, "And what do you want to forget in those few minutes?"

Not even bothering to dodge the question, he replied blatantly, "The war. Asuma's death. My father's death."

Temari almost wished she hadn't asked the question. She wasn't very good at... Comforting people, and she didn't really know what to do in these sort of situations. Rummaging around in her pockets, she pathetically pulled out a crumpled up napkin and handed it to him.

He stared at her curiously. "What's that for?"

"Um, you know... Crying?"

He chuckled at her, then burst out into full out laughing.

"What?" she asked, getting slightly annoyed. An angry and embarrassed blush spread out across her face.

"Hell no. You're not seeing me cry again."

"Fine," she huffed, tossing the napkin away. "Be that way. You know, I try to be nice and sympathetic, and you just flat out-"

Abruptly sitting up, he slid his hand behind her neck, pulled her in, and kissed her, cutting her off her sentence. Letting her go, he leaned in close to her ear as she sat in shocked silence. His turn to quote himself, he muttered to her, "'It's stupid to talk about things you're not. Be yourself and you'll be fine.'"

"W-hat?" She sputtered in response.

Not about to be done, he continued his quoting. "'No matter how strong-minded a woman is, she will show kindness to the man she loves.'" He leaned back and looked at her. "That one," he said, "was from my dad."

Rolling her eyes, she leaned in close to him and said with yet another smirk, "Yeah, yeah. So when are you gonna stop quoting people and actually kiss me again?"

"'Subtle as a rhino... she might even be scarier than my mom,'" he quoted once more. Then, leaning in again,

He kissed her.

_Dear TenTen,_

_Thanks for doing this for me. Really, it means a lot, even if I didn't exactly get the news I was hoping for. A bit scared to tell Gaara about this though. Don't want him to freak out or anything. I realize what you said about Shikamaru actually being a great guy. I get that, but I still think it'll always be in me to look out for Temari, you know? Just kind of like an instinct.  
Anyway, hoping for good news, and good luck to you!_

_Take care,  
Kankuro_

Looking up from her spot behind a large rock, TenTen peered out at the sight of Shikamaru and Temari's currently embraced bodies.

Damn, she thought to herself. This is going to be one hell of a reply letter.

,.,  
,.,

"Naruto!" Kankuro called out, his hands cupped around his mouth in a feeble attempt to make himself louder. The boy stood, unaware of anybody, in a barren landscape, surrounded by nothing but dirt, rocks, and tree debris. "_NARUTO_!"

"Forget it," Gaara said calmly. "I'll get him."

Raising his hand out in front of him, he smoothly lifted a small amount of sand out of his gourd, and carried it over to where Naruto was standing. Then, positioning it over his head, he promptly dropped it all over him.

With a high-pitched yelp, the orange-clad ninja jumped up and looked around frantically. Finally seeing the two, he smiled from his spot in the barren field and gave a cheery wave.

"Ready?" Kankuro called out loudly again.

Naruto nodded in response, raising his hands in a thumbs up. A flicker of movement caught Kankuro's eye in the corner of his vision, and when he turned around to see what it was, he was shocked to see Gaara signaling back the thumbs up, a small smile on his face.

_Damn. Naruto really has changed Gaara for the better, hasn't he?_

Turning his attention back to the blonde-haired ninja, he yelled, "Alright! Whenever your ready!"

Naruto clapped his hands and rubbed them together eagerly, his whole body buzzing with excitement. Forming a hand signal, he closed his eyes and concentrated until he felt the familiar feeling of water pooling around his ankles. He opened his eyes to the dark chamber inside of him and grinned widely at the monstrous beast lying behind the sealed gate.

"Yo, Kurama!" he said cheerfully, walking closer to the fence. "We've got a job to do-"

"I know," the large fox growled back. "I heard you humans talking about it in the Hokage's office. Such a petty job for my power." Despite his somewhat angry tone, there was a spark of excitement in his eyes, which Naruto had no trouble noticing. It got a little boring just watching the outside world through Naruto's eyes. He wanted to do something.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Naruto said, shaking his head playfully. "Dontcha mean our power?"

Kurama waved a clawed paw through the air and rolled his eyes. "Mostly mine."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yup."

"Whatever!" the jinchurikii replied. Stepping even closer to the gate, he held out a clenched fist expectantly. "Are we gonna do this or not?"

"I suppose," the Nine-Tails growled, sporting a determined grin on his face.

Connecting their two fists together, a blinding white light flashed across their eyes, causing Naruto to wince and shut his eyes. Reopening them, he saw that he was back outside again and waved, and successfully in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. Looking over towards Kankuro and Gaara, he waved a fiery arm at them, the heatless white-orange flames dancing up and down his skin and clothes. They waved back, backing up a little more for precaution.

Wasting no time in getting to work, Naruto smirked and thought to Kurama, _You ready for this?_

_Tch_. The Kyuubi replied. _I am a Tailed Beast. I think that question is better suited for yourself._

_I'll take that as a yes!_

Naruto held out his hands and felt Kurama's chakra flowing into his system. Easily forming two rasengans in his hands, he slammed them into the ground as a test. He leaped away, watching with satisfaction as two large trees sprouted from the previously barren dirt.

_Weak_. Kurama snorted.

_Hey, that was just a warm-up!_

_Of course it was._

Naruto grunted with annoyance. Concentrating, he had nine large, chakra-based arms grow out of his back, each forming its own giant rasengan. He broke into a sprint, the arms flinging the rasengans left and right, trees and shrubs sprouting from every place they hit. Laughing with excited joy, he thought proudly, _And how was that?_

_Not bad_, the Kyuubi admitted. _But I've seen better_.

_Oh really?_

Splitting into five clones, Naruto went on, sprinting across the area, flinging rasengans, punching and kicking ground, and hitting whatever empty ground he could with a blast of chakra. Finally, just about every spot of ground was covered by some type of vegetation, and Naruto stumbled towards Gaara and Kankuro. Deciding he was close enough, Naruto collapsed in a heap of exhaustion and grinned tiredly.

"How was that?" he asked, speaking to both the sand shinobi and Kurama.

Gaara gave him a small, approving smile while Gaara stared open-mouthed at him.

_Not bad at all_, Kurama growled.

Naruto laughed, feeling victorious.

_But I've still seen better._

_,.,_

_,.,_

Masato advanced on Sasuke and and Kaede, neon green flames shooting down his arm and through the air as it blazed towards them.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" Kaede announced as she pressed her hands on the ground. A wall of solid dirt grew up in front of them, blocking the unusual fire just before it could hit them.

Sasuke activated his sharingan. _Just as I thought. He's a Kekkai Genkkai user._

They had been going on like this for a while. The three jounin sparring together while the genin fought amongst themselves on the other side of the brush. The three of them were all fairly skilled, and it had been a tough match so far.

Pulling out his Katana, Sasuke leaped over the earth wall and rushed towards the blue-haired man while Masato pulled out his own kunai and held it up defensively. Slicing and swinging the long sword, he managed to make a few cuts in his clothes, but couldn't land any real hits. Deciding it was time for the big guns, he leaped back and gripped his wrist with one hand. The familiar sound of birds chirping filled the air,

Masato raised an indigo brow at Sasuke and gripped his own wrist, the chirping noise doubling.

Sasuke stared at his opponent in disbelief. _What the hell? No way. There's no frickin' way._

Sure enough, a crackling ball of lightning formed in his hand, almost identical to Sasuke's despite its lime green color.

Losing his initial shock, Sasuke sprinted forwards towards Masato, a look of determination on his face. The other jounin followed suit. Both were unaware of Kaede standing a few years away, her hands readily pressed to the ground. Just before the two were about to connect, two pillars of soft mud shot up from the ground, incasing the two Chidori's. The mud then hardened, leaving the two boys trapped.

"I don't know about you guys, but I need a break," Kaede laughed. "Let's go watch the others!"

Sasuke smirked and nodded. He acknowledged Masato. "Nice match."

"Same goes for you," the blue-haired jounin replied.

"Your Kekkai Genkkai. What is it?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Blaze style. A mixture between lightning and fire. Mine's green for some reason," he smiled.

"Ah," Sasuke said. "And you know Chidori."

Masato nodded. "Picked it up while training my Kekkai Genkkai."

The Uchiha boy nodded his head slowly. The two boys stood in silence for a little bit before Kaede interrupted them. "Alright! Now that you're all buddy buddy, let's go and watch our students!" she said impatiently.

Masato laughed. "I think we need to unstuck before we go anywhere."

The two laughed as Kaede blushed and released them.

,.,

,.,

"GAAAHH! I've got you now!" three Ryou clones screamed as they chased after a laughing Goemon, his flak jacket billowing behind him as ran along the length of the trees.

"Are you kidding me? I'm barely breaking a sweat!" he laughed cockily. "You call yourself a ninj-OOMPH!" In the blink of an eye, a chakra-powered arrow had shot through the air and pierced right through his shirt sleeve, effectively pinning him to a tree. "What the hell?"

The two looked up to see a silver-haired girl giggling as she held up her bow victoriously.

The genin had split into sparring teams. The red team consisted of Jamaru, Renna, Ketsui, Isamu, Yumiko, and Ryou. Hiraku, Nakamuro, Zuki, Tanaka, Goemon, and Katori made up the blue team. In the teams, however, they had split into separate matches, without even meaning to.

"Nice job, Yumiko!" Ryou shouted, running up to the trapped Goemon. "Now I've really got you!" Rearing back his clenched fist, he dashed forward to give him a painful blow to the face.

"Air Palm!" Hiraku yelled, blasting Ryou away. Rushing forward, he smirked at Ryou with Byakugan-activated eyes. "Idiot. How many times do we have to tell you? Don't let your guard down." He then continued to use his Gentle Fist to attempt to block the boy's chakra points. Finally free, Goemon joined Hiraku and verged onto Ryou, who hastily stood up in an attempt to defend himself.

Yumiko knocked another arrow, hoping to help Ryou out again. But just as she was about to release it, a stream of water shot out and knocked her out of the tree. Centering her chakra in her feet, she managed to slow her fall by digging her heels in the bark. She looked up from her sideways spot on the tree to see Katori, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Water Style?" she called.

The dark-haired girl grinned even wider. "And fire!"

Yumiko then pulled out a kunai and prepared to advance. Just as she was about to start running up the tree, she remembered Ryou. She gasped and whipped her head around, but was relieved to see that Jamaru had come to his rescue.

"Take that!" The Lee-fanatic yelled, using tai jutsu to fend off Hiraku and Goemon. Ryou recovered and joined the orange-haired boy in the fight. It was a match between Jamaru's tai jutsu against Hiraku's gentle fist, and Goemon and Ryou's clashing cocky attitudes.

On the other side of the clearing, Tanaka and Ketsui were battling it out. Knowing the Yamanaka girl used mind jutsu, Tanaka kept trying to keep moving so that she couldn't hit her. She knew she couldn't just run around forever though, as she was already getting tired. Stopping, the gray-eyed girl took some pins out of her pockets and flung them at her, hoping to prevent her from forming her hand signs.

Ketsui leapt away, her blonde pigtails swinging as she jumped. "Ah! That was close!"

Tanaka rushed forward, her pale face beading with sweat. She pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it at Ketsui's feet, hoping to distract her so she could get away for a few seconds. She leapt into a tree and leaned against the trunk, panting heavily. She looked down. Ketsui was looking around frantically, trying to see where she had gone.

Smiling to herself, Tanaka jumped down from her spot on the branch and tackled Ketsui to the ground.

"Eeek!" The blonde squealed.

Tanaka' gray eyes laughed triumphantly. "I won!"

A voice came out from behind her. "Did you?" Ketsui proofed away from under her, leaving her to hit the ground hard. Turning around, she saw the real Ketsui grinning wickedly at her.

Out of nowhere, two lightning-fast blurs came shooting out of the trees, fighting at top speed. Renna and Nakamuro lashed at each other with tai jutsu, simultaneously racing each other. Although they were pretty equal, Nakamuro seemed to be getting a bit of the upper hand.

"There's no way you're faster than me! No way!" Renna yelled, pushing herself a little harder. Abruptly stopping, she crouched down and used her leg to attempt to sweep Nakamuro's feet out from under him.

The boy just barely managed to dodge the kick, using his wind chakra to give him an extra jump. Thrusting his hands out, he used an air blast to push Renna away.

Righting herself, the red-headed girl then pulled out three shuriken, flinging them as hard as she could at him. He managed to use the wind to knock away two, but one of them sliced at his sleeve, leaving a clean cut in his arm.

"Ouch!" He hissed.

Renna smirked and sprinted towards him, and pulled out a kunai, hoping to end the fight right there. She cornered him against a tree and held the weapon up to his neck. "I win!" she said, smiling cheekily.

Nakamuro smiled back. Before Renna could even blink, he raised his hand up, sliced the blade in half with his sharpened wind chakra, and pinned her down with speed she couldn't even imagine.

Blinking in shock, Renna stared at the boy above her. "Awwww, man! You _are_ faster than me!"

Nakamuro chuckled and stood up, lending her his hand to help her up. He gave her a wide smile. "We were neck and neck. I use my wind chakra to give myself speed boosts. You, on the other hand, have natural speed. So really, you are actually faster than me."

Renna smiled and shrugged. Holding out her hand, she said, "Let's just compromise. We're equal."

"That's alright with me," he replied, shaking her hand. They then headed over to where their sensei's were standing.

"Nice fight, you two," Kaede smiled. "Very intense." Sasuke and Masato nodded in agreement.

Ryou, Goemon, Hiraku, and Jamaru came walking over, arguing amongst themselves as they approached.

"What happened?" Masato asked. "Who won?"

"We did!" they all yelled at the same time, making everybody wince.

Hiraku sighed. "It was a draw."

Sasuke nodded. To be honest, he slightly expected this. "There doesn't need to be a winner for it to be a good fight," he said to all of them. "You all did good. I was watching." Turning to Hiraku, he said, "You have the same fighting style as Neji."

Hiraku straightened at this comment, the corners of his mouth turning up in a proud smile. "Thanks."

Ketsui and Tanaka then came walking towards the group, oddly in sync.

Takana spoke first. "Okay, so Ketsui won! She is such a good fighter! No match for me!"

Ketsui giggled. "Aw, Tanaka, stop! You're embarrassing me!"

Goemon walked up to Tanaka and looked at her scrutinizingly. "Hm... You don't seem like yourself, Tanaka..."

Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke stared at the two and chuckled. "Just as I thought," he said. "Release her, Ketsui."

"Fine," she sighed. Suddenly, Katana collapsed to the ground. "Oops..." Ketsui said sheepishly. Probably should have set her down first..."

"But wait," he said. "When Ino used this jutsu, someone had to hold your body while you were in someone else's. Why can you control both?"

"That Yamanaka Clan has been advancing it's techniques. In this jutsu, half of me stays, and half of me leaves. That way I can use both bodies."

"What... What happened...?" Tanaka mumbled. "Huh?" She looked around confusedly. "...Ketsui? Did you use mind jutsu on me!?"

"Well you see..."

Isamu and Zuki leaped down from one of the nearby trees, saving Ketsui from answering. "Where were you guys? I didn't even see you!" Ryou asked.

"Oh, we were just... In the trees..." Zuki sighed in her usual dreamy voice. "It was a good fight... Isamu won. He is very strong..."

Isamu ducked his head and blushed. "It was really close," he muttered, afraid he was hurting Zuki's feelings.

Laughing an airy laugh, Zuki waved her hand in the air. "You won fair and square!"

Hearing two yells from inside the clearing, the group looked up.

"Hm. That must be Yumiko and Katori," Sasuke said. "I wonder how their fight is going."

Finally they saw Yumiko coming into view, running as hard as she could. She seemed to be randomly shooting arrows around the clearing. Then, she leapt back and waited.

"What is she doing?" Jamaru asked, clearly confused and curious.

Katori came into view. Seeing Yumiko, she rushed right towards her.

Whipping out a kunai, Yumiko swiftly cut a thread near her, causing all of them to snap in and encircle Katori, effectively trapping her.

"Yes!" Yumiko yelled, fist pumping the air.

Ryou whooped. "WAY TO GO, YUMIKO! WHOOO!"

Sasuke nodded. "Pretty clever."

To Yumiko's surprise, Katori smiled back and put two fingers to her lips.

Sasuke watched in confusion. _What is she..._

"Fire Style:..."

_Shit. There's now way._

"Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Taking a deep breath, her cheeks puffed out, The dark-haired girl blew with all her might. A large fireball shot out of her mouth, burning all of the threads to ash.

Sasuke stood up, slightly panicking. _It can't be. I shouldn't get my hopes up, but..._

"Sensei?" Ryou asked. "What's wrong?" Even Hiraku looked a little concerned.

Sasuke sprinted towards the two girls. "Stop the fight!" The two girls jumped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Yumiko asked worriedly. "What happened?"

"Y-you," he panted, pointing a finger at Katori. "W-where... Where did you learn that jutsu?"

Katori looked a bit scared, ands he stuttered back, "I l-learned it from my, uh, mother? She said it, um, ran in the family...?"

_But she's from the sand..._ "Your mother. Who is she?"

"She's... um..."

He stared at her expectantly.

"She died in the war," she finished quietly.

Sasuke winced inwardly. "Oh. I'm sorry," he said awkwardly, wishing he had never asked.

"No, no. It's okay. But, um, why did you want to know?"

"I was just... Wondering..." he said lamely. "What was your mother's name?"

"Misora Oonishi."

Sasuke nodded his head slowly. _It's probably nothing. A lot of people can learn that jutsu. But still. It is one of the Uchiha Clan specialties._ "Come on, let's go."

Katori looked as though she wanted to ask again why he had asked about her mother, but then decided against it. The two girls followed him in silence.

"What happened? Why'd you run off?" Ryou asked.

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly. "Just wanted to see where she learned that jutsu. It was pretty impressive."

"Yeah! It was awesome!" Ryou agreed, filling Sasuke with relief. Hiraku, however, still looked at him curiously.

"Hm. I think it's time to go back to the house."

"Yeah, I think you're right, Kaede said, looking up at the sky. It's getting kind of late anyway."

The rest agreed and followed, except for Ryou.

"Wait a minute! What team won!?"

Hiraku rolled his eyes. "Let's _go_ idiot."

**A/N**: Again, sorry for the late update! Like? Dislike? REVIEW! :)


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